The Mole: Hidden Adversary
by AdmiralBobbery
Summary: Ten players jump into the most exciting game of their lives, with trickery and adventure around every corner. Facing both physical and mental challenges, will they be able to uncover the hidden adversary amongst them and answer the ultimate question...who is the Mole?
1. Falling at the Start

**A/N: Ok so I know what you're probably thinking, OH MY JEEBUS ANOTHER MOLE FIC? ON MARIO? Well the answer is…yes -_-. Well don't leave yet! I've recently been reading stories by krisetchers and man are they good, so good in fact that they've inspired me to write my own. So, please read this first chapter, don't run yet, give me a shot. Because I promise you, this mole fic won't be abandoned like many others before it; I'll see it all the way through, from every little clue to the revealing of the mole. So, get out your notebooks and you're magnifying glasses because you're going to need them on this season of the Mole: Hidden Adversary!**

Episode 1- Part 1

The warm water licked at the heels of the small man's feet, his shoes getting damp and the tail of his coat beginning to feel the shining blue liquid climbing up its edges. He smiled, pleased to be hosting yet another season of his acclaimed game show, eager to meet the ten players who would be testing the waters of deceit and trickery. He could see it now, the small speck on the horizon was quickly advancing towards the tiny host and his trademark grin crept onto his face as he could begin to make out figures on the bow of the boat. Shaking off the droplets of water that danced around his feet and clambering up the wooden rungs, he made his way down the dock. His timing excellent, the boat softly pulled to a stop and the engine let out a cough before dying. Standing in front of him were nine eager contestants giddy to earn money, while one of them was completely aware of their surroundings, and not the least bit worried about what lay in store. This player had one objective, to sabotage and prevent the team from earning money, and however horrible their job description sounded this hidden adversary is known as…The Mole.

"Welcome players!" the host boomed as they took in their surroundings from the boat. A bit timidly, but then with reassured confidence, the first player made their way off the boat and onto the dock

**Polari**

_Surname: _Nebular

_Birthday: _October 25th

_Occupation:_ Retired Navigator

The elderly luma checked the area around him, noting the dense jungle and tropical sands that served as a perimeter around the grassy area that lay past the dock. He turned the host and with a perceptive air asked, "Are you our host?'

"That I am!" the man roared, much to Polari's fright and concluded, "You can call me Ballyhoo!"

Polari, looking a bit scared, floated down to the edge of the dock as instructed and waited for the rest of the passengers to disembark. Coming off the boat next were two women, who bumped into each other and after a moment of insisting that the other go first, decided to step off together.

**Toadalina**

_Surname: _Appleby

_Birthday: _May 3rd

_Occupation: _Waitress

**Bombette**

_Surname: _Dynama

_Birthday: _January 10th

_Occupation: _Chemist

Steadying herself on Ballyhoo's shoulder, Toadalina flashed the host a bright smile. Her purple Shroom cap was accompanied by two purple pigtails and she carried a very light and whimsical air about her. Behind her, the small pink bob-omb shuffled along the planks.

"My is it lovely here," Bombette regarded the lush scenery.

"Toadalina? Bombette? I presume," Ballyhoo looked the two women up and down and after they confirmed his informed guess, Ballyhoo directed them down the dock to stand with Polari.

Next was a blue noki woman whose only accessories were golden bangles on her wrists. A soft application of blue lipstick was added to her small lips and her body and shell were candy-striped blue. She sauntered down the dock to Ballyhoo.

**Luana**

_Surname:_Shelle

_Birthday__: _August 17th

_Occupation:_Marine Biologist

Slightly flirting with Ballyhoo and blowing a kiss to the camera, Luana continued her sashay down to where the rest stood and began light conversation while waiting.

"So which one of you is the mole?" Luana laughed at her effrontery.

"Erm…well," Polari started to sweat.

_Polari:__ I'm intimidated easily, always have been, and let me tell you, Luana is very intimidating up close._

Coming off the boat next was an odd looking person draped in a long cloak. The sleeves hung down past his hands and the raised hood masked his appearance. For first looks, the player reeked of mole, but Ballyhoo cleared the air by revealing his identity.

"Merlow, what a pleasure," Ballyhoo welcomed the man as he made his way down the dock.

**Merlow**

_Surname: _Starborn

_Birthday: _January 1st

_Occupation: _Fortune Teller

"He looks kind of scary," Polari bit his lip as Merlow approached.

"Greetings to you," Merlow bowed to Polari and the three women before taking his place.

_Toadalina:__ That Merlow guy seemed really shady, I mean for crying out loud his face and body were completely covered up, we didn't even know what he looked like._

Following the fortune teller was a Lakitu wearing shades and sporting a green Mohawk, followed by a blooper who opposed to the normal coloration of skin possessed a golden tan to his coloration.

**Lakilester**

_Surname:_Nimbulis

_Birthday:_ July 30th

_Occupation:_ Pilot

**Blooey**

_Surname:_ Episseiche

_Birthday:_ March 15th

_Occupation:_ Chef

The two collided as they tried to be the first to reach Ballyhoo and looked up with bewildered faces after they realized that five of the others were already there.

"Hey! I was supposed to be first!" Lakilester pouted.

"Calm yourself man, just take it easy," Blooey soothed the perturbed Lakitu.

"Hello boys! What did you think of the boat?" Ballyhoo asked with a smile, which quickly disappeared as the two chided the conditions of the watercraft.

'Well, go stand over there," Ballyhoo motioned them away and greeted the next player to come down off of the boat and onto the dock.

**Ruby**

_Surname:_ Mowz

_Birthday:_ November 7th

_Occupation:_ Saleswoman

The squeek darted over to the host and clutched his coat, "I'm terrified of water," she moaned, looking at the sparkling waves with sour distaste.

"Well go stand over there with the others and I'm sure you'll be fine," the host plucked Ruby's fingers from his coat and turned to the next player.

**Flurrie**

_Surname:_ Evershade

_Birthday:_ February 29th

_Occupation: _Actress

The wind spirit hefted herself off of the boat and glowered down at Ballyhoo. Placing her hands on her hips, she began her long list of problems with the boat ride. "I never thought it was going to stop, the waves were bobbing us up and down and I thought we would die! The food was horrid and I'll never set foot in a boat again!" she cried with a dramatic flair.

"Ah yes, Madam Flurrie, I'm sure it wasn't all that bad," Ballyhoo comforted her halfheartedly.

She opened her mouth to protest, but the next player was already there.

**Klutch**

_Surname:_ Koopa

_Birthday:_ August 23rd

_Occupation: _Mechanic

The koopa kid's black scales were illuminated by the morning sun and his flame red hair stood out against the blue backdrop of the ocean. Klutch walked his spiky body over to the host and it almost sounded like he growled at Flurrie.

"Klutch Koopa," Ballyhoo said as the wind spirit joined the others and the cameras turned to Klutch.

"Hey man, where's my money?" it sounded like he was joking.

Ballyhoo let out an unsettling laugh and ushered Klutch to join the others. After all ten were together, the host walked past them, down the dock and onto the white sands of the beach. Ruby danced away as the tide came reaching in, and joined the group as it went out. Coming to a halt in front of the grassy plain between the jungles Ballyhoo said, "Now we wait."

"Wait for what?" Bombette asked.

All of a sudden a tremendous buzzing sound blocked out all conversation and a helicopter came into view. The rotating blades on the top of it began to slow and as the helicopter lighted down, the green thumbprint insignia on the side became noticeable.

"For our helicopter of course," Ballyhoo laughed as everyone traded glances of worry and excitement.

_Ruby:_ _I knew this game would be exciting, but as soon as we arrived we got to ride in a helicopter! Sweet!_

Ballyhoo waved everyone in, the helicopter was much more spacious as it appeared and once they were all situated it took off. Grazing the canopy of the jungle, the helicopter allowed for some stunning scenic views. Passing a tumbling waterfall, the players oohed and awed at the sights. Snapping photos with her camera, Toadalina giggled with excitement. The helicopter seemed to slow down after a little while and Ballyhoo stood up.

"I know we just got here, but it's time for your first challenge!" he shouted over the whirring blades.

_Lakilester:_ _There was no way he just said challenge._

Ballyhoo tossed a rung ladder connected with rope over the side of the helicopter and explained; "Now while we are here, nine of you will be competing in an opportunity to win 750,000 coins."

_Luana: __750,000 coins? Well, I just might do anything for that kind of cash._

"However," the host continued, "One of you is not who you seem, lurking in the background of every challenge, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Yes, one of you is an enemy to the rest, a hidden adversary. That one is the Mole."

Everyone looked around, feebly attempting to discover who the mole is in one quick glance. Ballyhoo shook his head and said, "It won't be that easy, you'll have to pay close attention to what people say and do, because at the end of each episode one of you will be eliminated based on your knowledge of the mole, or lack thereof. The one with the lowest overall knowledge will be executed, until there is a winner, a loser, and a mole."

Paying close attention, the ten players followed his movements as he paced about the helicopter. Ballyhoo resumed his talking and said, "To kick things off, a challenge!"

"Each of you will descend this rope ladder onto a platform below us. There you will decide whether or not to perform the 100 foot free fall onto the canvas below. I assure you it is absolutely safe…probably. You will wear no harness or protection of any kind, throw caution to the wind and jump!"

_Flurrie:_ _Is he mad? There was no way I would be falling 100 feet! Preposterous!_

"Are you sure this is safe man?" Blooey questioned the rope ladder as he tested it with an outstretched tentacle.

"About sixty percent sure," Ballyhoo shrugged.

"Alright, here goes nothing," Blooey began his descent and after about ten seconds he was on the platform.

"The wind is a little rough but it's not that hard!" he encouraged the rest of his teammates to do the same.

The next down the ladder was Flurrie, "Let's just get this over with," she groaned.

_Toadalina:_ _We signed up for the show, Flurrie acts like she doesn't want to be here, which I find suspicious considering that this whole thing was voluntary._

Following the actress was Lakilester, whose Mohawk flapped about in the wind.

"Not cool, my hair is ruined!" he complained.

One by one, the players made their way onto the platform. The last to go down was Merlow. Halfway down his descent, a fierce gale ripped off his hood exposing a pitch black head with a mass of blonde hair on it. Frustrated, Merlow quickly pulled up his hood and reached the platform. The rest of the players were shocked by his actual appearance.

_Bombette:__ He wasn't ugly; I had just never seen anyone who looks like that. He must be from some special fortune teller clan or something._

Once all ten of them were on the platform, they noticed that a square hole was cut out of the wood to provide a direct line of free fall down to the canvas. The taut sheet was striped blue, yellow and pink, and it looked like some sort of Carnival canopy.

From inside the helicopter, Ballyhoo yelled down, "I call this the Big Top Jump! If all of you successfully perform the free fall, 10,000 coins will be added to the pot. However, if even one of you chickens out, then it's zilch. I'll be waiting down at the bottom! Oh, and wait until the person before you is off the canvas, we're not really sure how much weight this baby can hold."

The helicopter sped off towards the landing pad visible from the platform and up in the air, the players began their first challenge.

"We sure look much higher than a mere 100 feet!" Bombette noted.

"That's because the canvas is raised," Polari explained, "It's probably much higher off the ground than we think."

"Well I don't care how high we are," Flurrie stated, "I'm not going to do it."

Taken aback by her immediate refusal, Luana cried, "You at least have to try!"

Remaining silent throughout the bickering, Klutch made his way to the hole. Looking down at the canvas he looked back at his squabbling teammates and laughed.

"Hold up," Blooey said, "There are only nine of us up here."

"Klutch is gone," said Ruby.

Indeed he was, like a speeding bullet, Klutch plummeted towards the canvas. In the second that he had left the platform his scaly body made contact with the carnival canvas. The taut sheet bounced him back up and after a few light bounces the koopa kid let out a victory breath. Crawling to the edge of the canvas and looking down he realized Polari was right, the canvas was far from the ground.

_Klutch:__ Ballyhoo said not to jump until the person in front of you was off of the canvas, but if I couldn't get off then how would anyone else be able to fall!_

Suddenly, the canvas lowered to the ground. Realizing it was tied to some sort of pulley mechanism, Klutch lay on his back while the canvas reached the ground. Coming off quickly, Klutch watched as the canvas shot back up to its original position and he marveled at how high up his teammates looked.

**Players Jumped: 1/10**

"Makes you dizzy doesn't it?" Ballyhoo asked from behind him.

"Nah, I'm good with heights," Klutch didn't look back.

Disappointed he had not managed to scare the koopa kid, Ballyhoo returned his gaze to the remaining nine players on the platform.

"Well, who's next?" Merlow laughed about the incident with Klutch.

_Toadalina:__ I was really scared, but I knew the only way to face my fear would be to just do it. So unlike Flurrie I mustered up some courage and worked my way to the opening._

Screaming as she soared towards to the canvas, Toadalina's pigtails wildly danced behind her. She hit the canvas and bounced up, laughing deliriously. Reaching the ground after a few moments of rest, she came off and watched the pulley system bring the canvas back up.

_Toadalina:__ I'm glad I faced my fear early, because looking back up at the platform; I probably wouldn't have done it if I knew how high off the ground the canvas was._

**Players Jumped: 2/10**

Jumping after Toadalina, Merlow's cloak wrapped around him and his baggy sleeves smacked his face. Joining his teammates down on the ground, the fortune teller let out an accomplished sigh.

"That was scary," he summed up the experience lightly.

_Merlow:__ I never thought I would ever have the opportunity to do a free fall. It was exhilarating! I really should leave Starborn Valley more often._

**Players Jumped: 3/10**

Back up on the platform, Flurrie remained firm about her decision to not jump. Luana had given up coaxing her and had instead jumped herself. The blue noki woman laughed as she tumbled through the sky and the canvas broke her fall. Squealing with delight as her momentum triggered the small bounces, Luana joined the other three soon after her fall.

_Luana:__ That was so much fun! I just hope that someone up there pushes Flurrie off, because I'm not losing this challenge after that._

**Players Jumped: 4/10**

Coming down next was Blooey, whose many tentacles sprawled out against the sunny sky and his body whirled around as he made contact with the canvas. The pulley brought the canvas down and Blooey became the fifth player to jump, marking the halfway point.

_Blooey:__ Half of us have jumped, I'm a bit worried about Polari and Flurrie because he seems a bit nervous and she plum refused to do it._

**Players Jumped: 5/10**

"Out of my way!" Lakilester shouted as he jumped through the opening in the platform and fell, flipping over and over until he hit the canvas. He high-fived one of Blooey's tentacles as he met up with them and Ballyhoo said, "Let's see if the other four will jump."

_Lakilester:__ Blooey seems pretty cool; hopefully I can make a few friends while I'm here._

**Players Jumped: 6/10**

On the platform, Bombette, Ruby, Polari and Flurrie remained.

"Fine! I'll do it!" Flurrie cried out after no one pressured her to jump.

_Ruby:__ I wonder if Flurrie was ever scared, I think she just wanted to make the task a little more dramatic. I really hope she gets over that though because her theatrics might hinder us later on._

The wind spirit let out exasperated breaths on the ground, supposedly hyperventilating from all the excitement. Luana groaned at the actress's over the top recollection of her fall and already appeared annoyed.

**Players Jumped: 7/10**

_Luana:__ I was really hoping that everyone here would be really cool, and they just about are, except for Flurrie._

Trembling with fear, Polari gestured to the two remaining women to jump.

"It's fine really, I'm just building confidence," the luma assured his companions.

Bombette looked down the opening and at the canvas 100 feet below. Closing her eyes, she took a step forward and dropped the distance onto the canvas.

_Bombette:__ It was so crazy! The experience of just falling through the air with not a single piece of gear or safety, coupled with the feeling that your stomach is twisting in knots is something I'll never forget!_

**Players Jumped: 8/10**

Just Ruby and Polari remained on the platform and the squeek tried her best to convince her teammate.

"Just you and me huh?" she began, "Well I'm going to jump now, and I better meet you at the bottom _after_ you've jumped. We're so close to the money, just think about that."

Polari still appeared scared out of his mind so with a huff Ruby launched herself off of the platform and down through the opening. Twisting and turning in the air, she screamed as the g-force rattled her body. Smashing into the canvas with a shriek, she rejoined the group, leaving only Polari on the platform.

**Players Jumped: 9/10**

"Come on Polari!" Toadalina chanted. The others copied her plea, trying to convince Polari to jump. Well most of the others, save for one, one who was secretly hoping for Polari to succumb to his fear and quit the free fall.

_Polari:__ I was the oldest contestant, and considering that my health could be called into question, I was seriously considering backing out. The others had shown their valor however and I guess I really did it to make sure no one pointed any fingers and to secure some money on our first task. I just didn't want to be the first to let the team down.  
_

The luma smashed into the canvas and everyone below him cheered as he was lowered. The first challenge was a success and Polari couldn't help but feel a bit heroic as his teammates congratulated him on performing the free fall. With a bit of a confidence boost and 10,000 coins in the pot, Polari happily joined the rest of the team. However not all were happy, as the mole scowled to him or herself about the recent addition to the pot.

**Players Jumped: 10/10**

_**Current Pot**_

_10,000 coins/10,000 coins_

The courageous feelings soon dissipated, and the after effects of the plummet began to set into the stomachs of a few of the players. Rubbing his stomach with concern, Blooey cried out,

"When is lunch?"

Laughing, Ballyhoo turned to the group of ten and said, "Glad you asked Blooey, that's actually where we are headed right now, as a reward for successfully completing your first challenge."

"There isn't another challenge is there?" Flurrie whined.

"Not right now, but each episode will hold three challenges for you to complete, so don't think we're finished yet," the host said much to the dismay of the players. Walking in a group, they made their way through the jungle path, placing faith in Ballyhoo that he would be taking them somewhere relatively safe for the moment.

"Say, I don't even know where we are," Merlow acknowledged the lack of information they had been given.

"Yeah, where are we?" Bombette asked.

Not answering the question until they arrived in a clearing, Ballyhoo spread his arms wide to dramatize the view. The verdant grass swayed in the summer breeze and before the players eyes a small community was in front of them, sequestered from civilization on this island. Thatched huts peppered the outskirts of town, and the players noticed a hut much larger than the other was seated in the heart of the hut layout. A painted sign hung over the door that read, INN, and Ballyhoo led the players over to it with a springy gait.

"Welcome players, to Lavalava Island!" said Ballyhoo.

"This is where we are staying?" Flurrie questioned the hut.

"Trust me, it is much nicer on the inside, looks can be deceiving," the host replied, placing a strange emphasis on the word deceiving. Leading them inside, the players crowded about in the lobby, learning that Ballyhoo's words were indeed true. A huge breakfast bar covered a good portion of the lobby, and velvety carpeting covered a nice dining area. The concierge desk was attended by a happy looking Yoshi that smiled at the incoming crew.

"Well, let's see our rooms!" Flurrie demanded to know what her sleeping accommodations looked like.

"Tut-tut, after lunch," Ballyhoo waved everyone over to the dining area where they all took a seat around a large rounded table. A small blue Yoshi scurried over, donned in a waiter's outfit, and took Ballyhoo's order.

"I'll have the Piranha Plant salad," the host said.

Scrutinizing the menu, Lakilester cried out, "What kind of dishes are these?"

"They are exotic foods, something that only refined people would know about," Flurrie ordered the Piranha Plant salad as well and shot Lakilester a stinging look. He stuck out his tongue in reply and ordered the mushroom steak.

_Lakilester:__ Flurrie was really being annoying, first with her weird mood swings during the free fall challenge, second with her whining about the hotel and now she was just being plain rude._

Unaccustomed to the bizarre variety, most of the players followed suit and ordered the mushroom steak like Lakilester, except for Luana who placed an order for the Piranha Plant salad.

"The whole point of me coming on this show was to try new things, so why not?" she said as the Yoshi waiter took her order and darted off to deliver their lunches to the chef. The rest of the players shrugged off Luana's daring order, not realizing how essential their lunches really were. As the players viewed their surroundings in the lobby of the hotel, Ballyhoo placed a case on the table that seemed to appear out of thin air. Wondering as to what could be inside, Ballyhoo popped the clasps that bound the case shut and the metallic box opened.

Inside were ten thin and leather-bound black journals. Each one had silver writing in the upper right corner and similar writing in the bottom left. The writing in the upper right corner was similar on each journal, spelling out the words _The Mole: HA _in the shiny coloring. However, the bottom left corners were different on each one, with a number ranging from one to ten displayed on the leather cover.

"Yours to keep," Ballyhoo stated, "You may write whatever you please in these journals, something to record your mole hunting in." The journals were passed around and the players began to pick.

"The numbering doesn't matter right?" Toadalina asked. Ballyhoo made no response, although it appeared by the look in his eyes that he had heard Toadalina.

"Bah! I don't care, I'll take this one," Klutch snatched Journal 4.

"Well I think everything in this game matters," Merlow wisely stated and scooped up Journal 8. Flurrie, Ruby and Polari displayed no care in what journal they received, so they took whatever was handed their way, those numbers being 9, 2, and 6 respectively.

"Well seven is my lucky number," Blooey happily took Journal 7 while Toadalina carefully perused the remaining journals. Placing a delicate hand on Journal 3, she nodded to herself and took it quickly.

_Toadalina:_ _I think it was just the way the journals were presented that made me believe they would fit into the next game. I didn't want to rush into my decision so I thought about a number that seemed like it would be special. Three called out to me, so that's what I went with._

The remaining journals were 1, 5 and 10. Lakilester shrugged and took Journal 10, while Luana and Bombette were left to decide over journals 1 and 5.

"Which one do you want?" Luana asked the pink bob-omb. Bombette smiled at the noki and took journal 5, leaving Luana with number 1.

_Bombette:__ Luana is really nice, she tried encouraging Flurrie in the first challenge and it seems like she's just here for the experience. I think that coupled with her politeness she just wouldn't fit the bill for the Mole, it has to be someone who is stealthy and secretive...  
_

After the journals had been handed out, lunch arrived. Ballyhoo, Flurrie, and Luana were served their Piranha Plant salad and the other players received their mushroom steaks. Flurrie and Ballyhoo dug in heartily, but Luana jabbed the strange looking dish with her fork.

"I didn't think they would use the actual head of the plant," Luana muttered as she lifted up the spiky-toothed head with her fork. The flower petals were delicately arranged around a bed of romaine lettuce, complete with the marinated piranha plant head on top. She nervously laughed as everyone else gobbled up their lunched and halfheartedly speared the leafy dish. Raising a portion of the head to her mouth, she bit down and after a moment of hesitation her eyes opened wide with pleasure.

"That is so good," Luana commented between a mouthful of salad.

"Don't talk with food in your mouth darling," Flurrie advised with a tempered eye.

Mimicking the wind spirit, Lakilester moved his hand open and closed, referring to Flurrie's comment. Flurrie shot him a look of disdain.

_Flurrie:__ That Lakilester ruffles my feathers! I can't stand rude people; everyone tells me I'm so sweet and considerate so heaven knows why he was mocking me!_

After digging into lunch, Ballyhoo dabbed his mouth with his napkin and exclaimed, "Well, why don't I show you your rooms?"

Everyone nodded and agreed with excitement, wondering what their hotel rooms would look like. If they were anything compared to the dining room, then they would definitely be glad. Everyone followed Ballyhoo out of the dining room and back into the lobby, but Blooey still munched on his steak.

"Hey wait! I'm not finished!" Blooey complained and he tossed the remainder of his steak into his mouth. Choking a little on the large portion, he gulped down some water from his glass and ran out of the room after the others. Catching up with the rest of the group, Blooey noticed the look of concern on everyone's face. Ballyhoo was in a heated debate with the concierge who was saying something along the lines of "I don't know."

"What's going on?" Blooey asked as he arrived.

"The concierge doesn't know where our bags are," Bombette groaned.

Klutch rudely turned to Merlow and said, "Your psychic right? Just use your little powers and tell us where our bags are."

"It doesn't work like that," Merlow snapped with annoyance.

After a few more moments of frustrated conversation, Ballyhoo turned to the ten players.

"It seems as if your bags have disappeared," the hosts face began to contort into a grim smile, "So we'll have to play a little game to get them back."

"You took our bags?" Ruby asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Ballyhoo said, not seeing what was wrong with the situation.

"So that whole argument with the concierge was fake?" Ruby asked again.

"Yes," Ballyhoo said once more.

"And now we're going to do a challenge to get them back?" the squeek summed up the situation.

"Sounds about right," Ballyhoo confirmed.

"Great," she huffed.

Ballyhoo clapped his hands, commanding the attention of the ten. With a grin he said, "I think you'll want to follow me. Don't get too down though, because things are about to heat up, literally."

With their bags missing and their spirits in question, the players had no other choice. Wondering where their bags could be and what the challenge would entail, the ten followed Ballyhoo in confusion. However, one of them was not confused, one of them knew exactly what was going on, one of them is…the mole.

**The ten players have arrived on Lavalava Island and after completing an exhilarating free fall for 10,000 coins they arrive at the hotel to find their bags missing! What challenge awaits them? Where are their bags? And most importantly…who is the mole?**

** Next Episode…**

The players are faced with a stifling predicament,

_Bombette:__ When he said "hot", I didn't realize he meant this._

Coalitions are formed,

_Lakilester:__ I'm starting to feel a bit more confident about this game._

And Ballyhoo drops a shocking twist on the players,

_Flurrie:__ Me? Sleep…outside?_

**Well, there it is, hope you enjoyed it xD. A few things, every episode the mole will leave a clue for you to decipher, something that points to a challenge, their next victim, or even their identity. Also, be on the lookout for subtle clues, there were already a bunch in this episode. Feel free to leave reviews on who you think the mole is, but I won't tell, not until the end. I'll also be leaving polls on my profile, so hopefully this thing will heat up…much like our player's bags. Happy Mole Hunting!**


	2. Hot to the Touch

**Episode 1 (part 2)**

As Ballyhoo directed the players out of the hotel, Blooey couldn't help voicing his concern.

"Our bags aren't in danger are they?" the frazzled squid asked.

"Well to be perfectly honest," Ballyhoo said, "Yes…they are very much in danger."

Blooper groaned, "Man, I've got some _really _expensive headphones in there."

Anxious to know the fate of their bags, the players quickly followed Ballyhoo as he led them towards a secluded trail near the left side of the hotel. Sticking out of the ground, a sign with multiple arrows pointing in a variety of direction stood in front of the players.

**HOT SPRINGS -**

"Right this way," Ballyhoo laughed to himself as he took the ten players in the direction of the hot springs.

_Ruby:_ _I immediately became suspicious of our next destination. If Ballyhoo was taking us to our bags, what business did we have at a hot spring?_

Traversing the jungle trail, the ten players followed Ballyhoo through all the swales and bends of the lush path. Having to brush overgrown foliage and dense bushes out of the way, the players were visibly tired when they reached the hot springs.

"Wow, this place is…" Toadalina breathed.

"Beautiful," Luana finished her sentence.

_Merlow:__ This was primarily why I signed up for the show. Before I left, Merlon told me it would be good for me to see the world, and by coming to Lavalava Island and seeing these hot springs, I was doing just that._

"I'm sensing some sort of ominous aura from this place," Merlow stated with narrowed eyes.

"What could be ominous about these hot springs?" Klutch laughed in disbelief at the fortune teller's prediction. It was hard not to agree with the koopa kid, the sight was incredible. A waterfall crashed down the cliffs behind the springs, and there were about eight deep craters smashed into the ground. Each one was filled with a generous portion of steaming water and several yoshis were lounging in them with faces full of recumbent content.

"So, Ballyhoo, where are our bags?" Flurrie demanded from the host.

The host laughed, and was about to answer her question when something caught Bombette's eyes. About a hundred feet back from the hot springs; ten geysers were lined up in a row, and on top of each one rested ten identical black bags, each one with a green thumbprint displayed on side. The trademark logo of The Mole.

"Our bags," Bombette gasped.

Everyone looked to where she was staring, and Polari let out a mild gasp. Ballyhoo, laughing to himself, addressed the discovery of the players.

"It appears you have indeed found your bags, but getting them won't be that easy," Ballyhoo explained. The players turned to him and before Lakilester could ask the question all of them wanted the answer to, Ballyhoo continued his lecture.

"You see, although your bags are within reach, you cannot grab them. In order to do so, you will all be divided into three positions. This challenge is called Baggage Claim, and that is exactly the goal, to claim your baggage."

Everyone listened intently. Ballyhoo continued saying, "Three of you will be designated to the role of Retriever. Your purpose is to retrieve as many bags as possible from the geysers. However, you can only take one bag off a geyser at a time, and there is catch to that as well. Two of you will be solving riddles, which will get more difficult as you go. Once a riddle is solved, one of the retrievers can get a bag off of one of the geysers. Only one bag can be grabbed and the next bag cannot be obtained until another riddle is solved."

"What about the other five?" Blooey asked.

"Good question Blooey," Ballyhoo commented, "It's up to the other five to earn the money. When a bag is retrieved off the top of the geyser, it will be considered safe. However, the money can only be earned when one of the remaining "guessers" correctly identifies whose bag it is by perusing what's inside. The guessers must elect who will be searching through that bag and a guesser can only guess again once all of the other guessers have guessed. Each bag correctly assigned to a player wins the pot 3,000 coins, for a total possible total of 30,000 coins for this mission."

At the possibility of triple the money from their previous task, the ten were determined to win, except for one of them of course. When Ballyhoo was done, Ruby posed a question.

"So, what did you mean by 'the bag is safe'."

"Aha, excellent Ruby," the host lauded the squeek, "you see, every three minutes a geyser will go off, thus destroying the bag resting on top of it by blowing it sky high."

Gasps arose from several of the players.

_Bombette: __When he said "hot", I didn't think he meant this._

"The order of eruption is completely random, so save the bags at will," Ballyhoo instructed them.

"So who gets what role?" Klutch asked to no one in particular.

"Glad you asked Klutch," Ballyhoo tapped the top of his hat, "The role you play in this game is linked to your actions at lunch today."

Mystified, the players were baffled by how their lunch fit into this game. After a moment of consideration, Ballyhoo filled them in.

"Flurrie and Luana, you were the only ones who were brave enough to order the Piranha Plant salad, so you'll be solving the riddles."

_Luana:__ Gah! I'm terrible with riddles!_

Flurrie confidently nodded, but Luana looked rather unsure about her role. Ballyhoo then addressed the next role,

"Toadalina, Bombette, and Blooey, you all grabbed journals 3, 5, and 7, which happen to be the three odd numbers between one and ten that can only be multiplied by themselves and another number. The three of you will be playing the role of the retrievers."

_Blooey:__ It was a reassurance to be the one grabbing the bags, hopefully the weight of them would let me know which one belonged to me._

The three nodded and Ballyhoo filled the other five in on their obvious role.

"You five are the guessers, so you'll be responsible for earning the actual money."

_Lakilester:__ Being responsible for earning the money but on a lot of pressure, I didn't want to make a mistake and cost the team money, but honestly, it might play to my advantage._

All ten of them being assigned their roles, the ten were divided up. Flurrie and Luana were taken to a roped off section a bit apart from the geysers. A table was inside of the roped off section, where several sheets of paper were laid out. Bombette, Toadalina, and Blooey were positioned in front of the geysers, where they surveyed each bag with a scrutinizing eye.

_Toadalina: __I really hope my bag isn't destroyed by these geysers. The temperature has to be insanely hot!_

The other five were set a bit back from the geysers, where the awaited the first bag to guess the owner of. Ballyhoo stood outside of the roped off section Flurrie and Luana were in and when he was content with the position of the players, he blew on the whistle around his neck.

"Go!"

**30 minutes on the clock, first geyser blows in 3:00 **

"Ok," Luana breathed, "We need to solve these riddles."

"Well don't waste time, read one off!" Flurrie shrieked.

Luana grabbed the first paper and scanned the page with her eyes before she read aloud, "What gets wetter the more you dry?"

_Luana:__ I repeat, I am terrible with riddles. The first riddle was supposed to be the easiest one and I didn't even have the slightest clue?_

Thinking for only a moment, Flurrie snapped her fingers and blurted out the answer, "A towel!"

Smiling at her response the host exclaimed, "Correct! Retrieve the first bag!"

Dashing forward, Blooey zipped to the geysers in hopes of locating his bag. Lifting the closest one off the block, he could tell it was much heavier than his bag had been when he packed it.

"Come on, bring it back!" Toadalina cheered.

Forgoing his earlier goal of securing his own bag, Blooey darted over to the guessers. Where Polari grabbed the first bag out of his hand and threw it on the ground. The luma turned to his fellow guessers and said, "I guess I'll go first."

Opening up the bag, Polari sifted through the items. The bag contained a large assortment of hair ties, many floral shirts, and most of the clothes were purple. Confused with whose bag it could be, Polari's gut instinct leaned towards Toadalina.

_Polari:__ I was pretty much sold that the bag belonged to Toadalina, but then something caught my eye._

A tube of bright red lipstick was visible in the corner of the bag, and Polari realized that the only person here who wore the sort of thing was Ruby. Deciding against instinct and deciding the bag belonged to her, Polari called out,

"This bag belongs to Ruby!"

Ballyhoo placed the bag to the side; not revealing who the bag belonged to. Polari returned to the group and Lakilester readied himself for the next bag.

**27:28 on the clock, first geyser blows in 0:28**

"Unseen and unheard, I can move mountains, dry floods, and even kill a man."

"I honestly have no clue," Luana admitted after reading off the riddle.

_Flurrie: __Luana was being no help on these riddles whatsoever, it was basically just me solving them._

'Come on Luana, help me figure this out!" Flurrie whined. The noki held up her hands, to indicate she could no offer no solution to the riddle. In Flurrie's fit of annoyance, the answer crossed her mind.

"Time!" Flurrie cried and Ballyhoo answered, "Correct!"

Bombette ran for a bag, snatching it off the geyser and bringing it to the guessers just as the first geyser was ready to blow. With two geysers deprived of bags to send flying, there was a two in ten chance that the bags would make it through the first eruption. The ground began to tremor violently and Merlow cried out, "Get ready!"

Spewing burning steam, the geyser erupted and to the dismay of the players a black bag was sent careening into the sky with it. Not wasting anytime, Lakilester ignored the ill-fated bag and went to guessing his bag. Back at the table, Flurrie and Luana began the third riddle.

Noticing the obvious clues in the bag, Lakilester zipped it back up once his eyes spotted the baggy cloaks and said, "This bag belongs to Merlow!"

"It seems as though everyone wants to rid of them, but on the computer, it's hard to do without."

Luana seemed stumped, and so did Flurrie, the game depended on their success.

**25:44 on the clock, 1:44 until the next geyser blows.**

"Is it a virus?" Luana attempted.

Ballyhoo shook his head, "I'm sorry but that's incorrect."

Luana groaned but Flurrie answered for the third time, "It's a mouse!"

"Correct!" Ballyhoo bellowed and hearing the good news, Toadalina ran for the next bag. Scooping up the one closest to her, she ran back to the guessers and tossed the bag Ruby. In Toadalina's quick action, Ruby fumbled the bag and it crashed to the ground.

_Ruby: __Toadalina needed to pay more attention, acts like that cost valuable time even if they seem accidental._

"Go on and open it!" Klutch cried and Ruby returned to the task at hand, sorting through the articles in the bag she couldn't pinpoint the owner.

At the table, the pressure was on as the last minute for the next geyser ticked down. This time, Flurrie quickly solved the riddle, and once again Luana was no help.

Blooey sprinted for the next bag. He could feel the earth quaking underneath him and beginning to sweat he grabbed the bag near him and doubled back to the guessers. Giving it to Klutch, the koopa kid got to business trying to determine who it was.

No idea as to who the bag belonged to, Ruby called out, "This bag belongs to…Polari?"

Klutch, feeling confident in his decision after spotting several gaudy necklaces, cried, "This bag belongs to Flurrie!"

Back at the table, the game turned in the opposite direction.

_Flurrie: __The second I heard my bag was safe, I decided to not solve the next riddle. Luana's inability to solve any riddles really prompted my suspicions, and if she really wasn't the mole, then she would have to solve a riddle to prove it._

Luana read off the next riddle, but was interrupted by the geyser.

This time, the erupting geyser took no bag with it, and light cheering came from the players.

"Deep in the ocean, it would seem absurd, but my fiery touch is widely heard," Luana read the riddle. Looking up to Flurrie for help, the wind spirit shook her head in disbelief, putting on a show as if she didn't know the answer.

_Klutch: __I noticed that over by the table, the girls weren't doing any riddle solving. I think they hit a standstill._

"Flurrie I honestly don't know!" Luana pleaded.

"I don't either darling," Flurrie protested.

"Ballyhoo, we don't know it," Luana pouted.

"Then grab the next riddle, but it will be harder," Ballyhoo warned.

This time, Flurrie read off the riddle, and Luana could have sworn she saw some mischievous glint in Flurrie's eye.

_Luana:__ Flurrie was up to something, and it was starting to make me nervous._

"Guys, hurry up!" Bombette cried over by the geysers.

"Yeah, what's the deal?" Blooey asked.

"What are they doing?" Polari questioned aloud.

"I'm sensing trouble ahead," Merlow commented.

"One in the same, you can only see me in yourself."

"I have no clue what that could be," Luana grumbled in defeat.

"Nor do I," the wind spirit snapped.

_Toadalina: __Something was fishy over by the riddle table; one of them was up to something. Flurrie and Luana have just taken themselves to the top of my list. Although from what I hear, Luana seems genuinely penitent._

"Oh…is it your reflection?" Luana asked Ballyhoo.

"Is it?" he asked back with mirth.

'Your reflection!" Luana stated.

"Correct!" Ballyhoo answered.

It was too late though, because as Bombette ran for the next bag, the next geyser erupted. A black bag was blown far above the ground and the players groaned as yet someone else's belongings were destroyed and 3,000 coins were taken with it. Taken aback by the explosion, Bombette paused for a moment after it ended.

"Go Bombette!" Blooey urged and the bob-omb grabbed the next bag. Throwing it to Merlow, the fortune teller zipped it open and was met with a pair of headphones that were intricately designed. Various fitness related clothing accessories were in littered about the bag and Merlow, sounding very confident in his answer said, "This bag belongs to Klutch!"

Having her way, Flurrie was happy enough to readily answer the next riddle. Toadalina sped forward and Bombette cheered her on, "Hurry Toadalina!"

**21:01 on the clock, one second until the next geyser blows.**

Grabbing the bag without stopping, Toadalina ripped it off the base just as the hot steam billowed out of it. Stinging her hand on the recoil, Toadalina winced, but no serious damage was done. Crying out in pain however, the toad dropped the bag and clutched her hand, a grimace on her face.

_Blooey: __When Toadalina dropped that bag, I knew we had lost some serious time. She was the only one who could bring it back and with her hand hurt from the steam, she didn't appear to be doing any lifting anytime soon._

"Sorry guys!" Toadalina apologized as she finally hefted the bag over to the guessers. Polari took it from her and smiled, hoping to cheer up the hurt girl. Pain was evident in her forced beam, and she returned to her place in front of the geysers. The incident had cost them time, and Flurrie and Luana struggled with the next riddle.

"Skip it!" Flurrie cried with zeal and grabbed the next slip of paper.

"Find me in the garden, I grow not underground,"

"These are hard, that could be anything," Luana panted.

"Ballyhoo, these riddles aren't even fair," Flurrie protested.

The host smiled and nodded his head, "I never said they would be."

"Grab the next riddle," Luana decided.

**18: 15 on the clock, 0:15 until the next geyser blows.**

Unable to decipher the riddles, the next geyser did not relent. However, thanks to the six bags already gone, the geyser erupted normally, with no bag in tow. Polari shuffled the items in his bag, and said with a determined tone, "This bag belongs to Luana!" Crediting his decision to the wristlets and stylish shells that lay in the bag.

With more than half of the time on the clock, and only two bags left to retrieve, the task seemed nearly complete. However, when Flurrie grabbed the next riddle, her mouth gaped.

"Avllaav Dnilas"…"What the heck!" the actress shouted out.

"What is this?" Luana screamed in frustration.

_Luana:_ _These riddles…_

The other eight players were growing steadily impatient, and although the next geyser that erupted didn't take a bag, the two remaining ones were creeping closer and closer to their demise.

"Come on guys, you can do it!" Lakilester chanted from the guessers section.

**14: 11 on the clock, 2:11 until the next geyser blows. **

Growing impatient with the lack of progress coming from the riddle table, the other eight players could only look on with small doses of hope that Flurrie and Luana would prevail. Blooey, Bombette and Toadalina were ready to run in the case that Ballyhoo bellowed the magic word, correct.

Studying the words closely, Flurrie scanned the jumbled riddle again. Her eyes looked over each letter and then suddenly, a light bulb went off inside her head. She excitedly turned to her comrade and said, "Luana, this is an anagram, check out the jumbled letters."

Looking them over, a smile crept onto the noki's face, "You're right Flurrie, oh my gosh!"

"Lavalava Island!" The girls told the host simultaneously.

"Correct!" Ballyhoo applauded their work.

Blooey was off like a rocket, and he snatched one of the bags and made it back to the guessers just before the geyser that bag had previously occupied went off. The spectacle of steam and smoke filled the air, and the players sighed with relief as they faced their final bag. Lakilester reached out and took it from him, and quickly set to work in efforts to calculate the owner of the bag.

"Hey, this is my bag!" the Lakitu laughed and added it to the pile of bags already in their possession. Looking out at the final bag, the three remaining players who had yet to be called were starting to sweat. In their haste to deliver the bags safely, the retrievers had not been paying attention to the bags called and in their afterthought they realized that none of their names had been called.

"If all of the predictions have been right," Bombette began,

"Then only one of our bags is alive," Toadalina finished her sentence.

"Come on! I've got some expensive stuff in there!" Blooey complained glumly.

"Well, we have to finish this," Bombette sounded determined.

"Yeah, if only our riddlers can decipher this next riddle," said Blooey.

Ruby would be guessing for the final bag, and she nervously awaited Flurrie and Luana's next answer.

"Themo Leis Clos Erth Anyo Uthi Nk," Flurrie read aloud, completely baffled by the statement she had just read.

"Oh! How silly of me," Flurrie slapped her forehead, "The mole is closer than you think!"

"Correct!" Ballyhoo announced the final result of the final riddle and Bombette wasted no time handing the bag off to Ruby. The squeek took her time trying to guess whose bags it was, due to the ten minutes that remained on the clock. She noticed a few fashionable hairbands and some stylish shoes, and without much of a hunch to go on, started eliminating the girls.

"I know Luana, Flurrie and I have been called," Ruby thought to herself, "So it's between Toadalina and Bombette."

_Ruby: __Personally, I took Toadalina as the kind of girl to bring a lot of stuff with her, and since there wasn't much in this bag, I decided to go with Bombette._

"This bag belongs to Bombette!" Ruby stated and with that, Ballyhoo officially ended the game.

**Time left on clock 8:02 Bags Destroyed: 2**

Approaching the ten players, Ballyhoo clapped his hands in delight.

"Well, that was rather exciting wasn't it?" Ballyhoo thought aloud.

"Yeah, if you count two of our bags being blown to bits exciting," Klutch hissed.

"Lighten up, and don't despair if your name wasn't called, we have no clue if the guessers guessed correctly, hmm?" Ballyhoo raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, about that, can we get some results," Lakilester asked.

"Calm down there," Ballyhoo chuckled, "Let's go over the game. Starting with our riddle solvers. The survival of the bags depended on your ability to solve the riddles, which at times got a bit tricky."

Luana looked down and Flurrie placed her hands on her hips.

"Luana, let's start with you," Ballyhoo began, "You were unable to solve a fair share of the riddles, and the only time you managed to solve them were when Flurrie forced you to. Your inability to solve a majority of the riddles could be considered very suspicious don't you think?"

_Luana: __I honestly didn't know the answer to the riddles; I don't know why Ballyhoo was putting such an amount of pressure on me._

_Flurrie:__ Luana is definitely on my list of suspects, some of those riddles were pretty easy and she only lifted a finger when I demanded she do so._

"However," Ballyhoo countered his own speech, "Flurrie's demand that you solve the riddles seemed out of character, something that maybe the mole would do in order to draw suspicion away from themselves."

"What? I'm not the mole!" Flurrie wildly protested her mouth agape in shock at Ballyhoo's supposition.

"Retrievers," Ballyhoo turned to Toadalina, Bombette, and Blooey. "Out of all of you, Toadalina displayed some dubious tendencies. Dropping two of the bags, you held the clock back by a few minutes, which might have been the cause of the loss of a bag."

Toadalina's face contorted at Ballyhoo's theory and she shook her head to rid herself of any suspicion.

_Ruby:__ I found it odd how Toadalina managed to be hindered by the geyser steam. That smoke would have been so hot that she would have needed medical attention. I'm just not buying it._

"What about our guessers? They could have easily assigned a bag to someone that possesses no relevance to any of the items inside. The mole could have struck anywhere in this game, and although your efforts were hurried and determined, you still lost two bags."

_Blooey:__ Bombette, Toadalina, and I couldn't be blamed for losing the bags; it was Flurrie and Luana who determined when we were able to retrieve a bag, so all we had to do was wait._

_Merlow:__ I was sensing odd vibes from that riddle table, something just didn't add up over there._

Ballyhoo once again clapped his hands to draw attention to him and said, "So, two bags were obliterated, would you like to know whose?"

"More importantly," Polari spoke up, "How much money did we win?"

"All in due time," Ballyhoo insisted, "All in due time."

Ballyhoo walked over to the pile of bags, his large feet making his tiny body take long strides. Arriving at the pile of bags, he rapped his knuckles on the first one.

"Interestingly enough, the final bag came down to our three retrievers, who were busy working for them the entire time. Ruby," Ballyhoo addressed the squeek.

"Yes Ballyhoo?"

"You claimed this bag belonged to Bombette…let's see if you were right," the host unzipped the black bag, running the palm of his hand along the green thumbprint on the side. Fully unzipping it, he leaned over to examine the contents.

"This bang belongs to…" he began.

"Bombette! Good work," Ballyhoo congratulated.

Adding 3,000 coins to the pot, the team lightly cheered and clapped. Ballyhoo approached the second bag, looking over what was inside. Turning to face the players he said,

"Lakilester," Ballyhoo said seriously, "You guessed that this bag belonged to you."

"Um, I know it does," Lakilester laughed uncomfortably.

'Well your right," Ballyhoo shrugged and added 3,000 more coins to the team pot.

After another round of smiling faces and warm reception, Ballyhoo perused the third bag. Peering into its insides, he smiled mysteriously and said to the group, "Well, Polari guessed that this bag belongs to Luana…"

Anxiously awaiting the results, Polari hoped that his answer was correct.

"It does," Ballyhoo smiled.

"Three for three guys," Merlow stated confidently.

Turning to the fourth bag, Ballyhoo's eyes scanned the contents. Looking at the ten players, he said in a calm voice, "Merlow, you guessed this bag belonged to Klutch."

Not able to see what lay within, the players could only hope that the fortune teller had guessed correctly. Ballyhoo's eyes took on a mischievous gleam and with a downcast look he stated, "Well, it actually belongs to Blooey, so you do not gain any coins."

Everyone groaned, except for Blooey, who cheered after realizing his bag was no longer disintegrated. Happily dancing around, Blooey abruptly ended his celebration when Klutch shot him a look of disdain, obviously chiding his no-profit celebration.

_Klutch:__ If Merlow's guess was wrong, then that means my bag could very well be amongst the dear departed. Oy vey…_

Apologizing to the group, Merlow said, "I'm really sorry guys, it just looked like stuff that Klutch would wear to me." Taking his apology for sincerity, the group nodded their understanding. But one shifted their weight and eyed the fortune teller.

_Ruby:__ If I remember correctly, I remember Blooey explicitly stating in one of his many complaints that a very expensive pair of earphones rested on the top of his luggage. If Merlow's supposed to be some sort of omnipresent star child, then why couldn't he remember a simple statement from earlier…very suspicious to me._

"Klutch," Ballyhoo turned to the fiery koopa kid, "you claimed that this bag belongs to Flurrie…and you're right!"

Flurrie put a hand on her breast in relief, and blew out chilled air. Klutch knew that the owner of that bag was obvious and wasn't surprised that he was correct. The group had now accumulated four correct guesses out of five.

"For the next bag, Ruby guessed that it belonged to Polari…was she right?" Ballyhoo prompted.

Ruby bit her lip, praying that her second guess was correct.

"Well, you're right!"

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief and became the first guesser to get both of her bags correct. The players cheered and clapped and were now five for six. Only two bags remained, and after that, the owners of the bags that were not saved were to be revealed.

"Lakilester claimed that this bag belongs to Merlow," Ballyhoo said as he hefted the bag up in the air. "Lakilester…" Ballyhoo said.

"Yes?" The Lakitu started to doubt his decision.

"You're right, this bag does indeed belong to Merlow."

"That's six for seven guys," Toadalina cheered.

"Now, Polari, you made a heated guess on the first bag," Ballyhoo stated, "You said that this bag belongs to Ruby."

Knowing that the fate of her bag lay on the line, Ruby prayed that Polari had made the right decision.

"I'm sorry, but this bag belongs to Toadalina, not Ruby," the host definitively said.

"Sorry guys," Polari looked down at the ground in shame.

"What? That means my bag is gone!" Klutch shrieked in disbelief. The koopa kid, obviously agitated, stomped around in rage.

"I guess that means mine is gone as well," Ruby tentatively said to the host.

"I'm afraid so," Ballyhoo responded. The host then addressed all ten of the players, "So, even though you completed this challenge with eight minutes left on the clock, there were plenty of mishaps that could have been fixed. However, you did manage to correctly assign six of the eight bags to their owners, so congratulations. That means a total of 18,000 coins will be added to the pot."

After the challenge this time, the players only seemed halfhearted with their cheers. They had only managed to get a little over half of the possible 30,000 coins for this challenge.

**Current Team Pot**

_28,000/40,000_

However, one of them was not feeling halfhearted at all. One of them was rather pleased with their recent actions in the challenge. One of them is…the Mole.

**I know, a crummy way to end the chapter, but there is more to come. The mole left their clue this chapter, so sleuth away! I'll try and be relatively quick about these updates as well. **

**Next time on The Mole: Hidden Adversary**

_The players are finally shown their rooms after an afternoon of two grueling challenges._

"_Wait a minute…the door is locked."_

_Klutch:__ Then I realized, sitting right in front of me…was an exemption._

_The third challenge commences and our players are in for their third jaw-dropping surprise. And as the first exemption draws nearer, our players can only wonder…Who is the Mole?_


	3. Hotel Lavalava

**Episode 1 (part 3)**

**First of I would like to thank everyone for their reviews for last chapter!**

**Princess Toady- Thank You! Thank you so much for the wonderful cover image for this story and for your support so far. I won't let you know whether or not you're on the right track, but keep up the sleuthing! And yes, Luana **_**and**_** Klutch appeared in a story previous to this one, The Dreamstakes. At the time the Dreamstakes wasn't doing well and I took it down, but recycled the characters of Luana and Klutch because I liked them a lot. **

**FFWS: Thanks for the review! If you expect good things, then good things shall come! Thanks for appreciating the Baggage Claim challenge as well!**

**KingBloo: I have to thank you for the review and for reading Princess Toady's advertisement about me as well. Well see if all your suspicions are correct in due time. Yes I did indeed write the Dreamstakes and perhaps one day I will take up that story again, but for now I'm busy with other projects **** But I do appreciate your comments!**

* * *

Previously on The Mole: Hidden Adversary, ten contestants arrived on Lavalava Island and leapt into the game of their lives. It was announced by their host, MC Ballyhoo, that one of them could walk away with 750,000 coins. However, it wouldn't be easy. One of them is a saboteur, a traitor, that person is…The Mole.

_Luana__: 750,000 coins? Well, I just might do anything for that kind of cash._

The task is a simple one, find out the most about the mole and evade the execution quizzes. Although, that's much easier said than done.

_"However," the host continued, "One of you is not who you seem, lurking in the background of every challenge, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Yes, one of you is an enemy to the rest, a hidden adversary. That one is the Mole."_

Faced with their first challenge, the players one by one performed a free fall of one-hundred feet without any harness or protective gear. If all of them jumped, then 10,000 coins would be added to the pot.

_Flurrie:_ _Is he mad? There was no way I would be falling 100 feet! Preposterous!_

Each player jumped, although achieving that end didn't come easy.

_Polari:__ I was the oldest contestant, and considering that my health could be called into question, I was seriously considering backing out. The others had shown their valor however and I guess I really did it to make sure no one pointed any fingers and to secure some money on our first task. I just didn't want to be the first to let the team down._

_Adding 10,000 coins to the pot, the players happily followed Ballyhoo through the dense jungle path and finally arrived at Lavalava Village, where they would be staying for this portion of the game. A delicious lunch consisting of Piranha Plant salads and Mushroom Steaks left the players with full bellies and ten personal journals. A means of writing down their suspicions, the journals served to record notes about what actions seemed, well…moley._

_Ruby:_ _I immediately became suspicious of our next destination. If Ballyhoo was taking us to our bags, what business did we have at a hot spring?_

Met with the possibility of losing their bags, the players trekked to the hot springs for their second challenge. Where bags were blown to bits and cold hard coin was made.

Two of the players served as riddle solvers,

_"Flurrie and Luana, you were the only ones who were brave enough to order the Piranha Plant salad, so you'll be solving the riddles."_

Three of them as bag retrievers,

_"Toadalina, Bombette, and Blooey, you all grabbed journals 3, 5, and 7, which happen to be the three odd numbers between one and ten that can only be multiplied by themselves and another number. The three of you will be playing the role of the retrievers."_

The rest of them as guessers as to whom the rescued bags belonged to,

_"You five are the guessers, so you'll be responsible for earning the actual money."_

_Lakilester:__ Being responsible for earning the money but on a lot of pressure, I didn't want to make a mistake and cost the team money, but honestly, it might play to my advantage._

However, there was a catch,

_"Aha, excellent Ruby," the host lauded the squeek, "you see, every three minutes a geyser will go off, thus destroying the bag resting on top of it by blowing it sky high."_

In a race against the clock, the players managed to rescue eight of the ten bags, but only correctly assign six of the rescued eight. Ruby and Klutch finished off the challenge without their bags, leaving the group pointing fingers. Flurrie and Luana were criticized for their lackluster riddle solving skills,

_"Luana, let's start with you," Ballyhoo began, "You were unable to solve a fair share of the riddles, and the only time you managed to solve them were when Flurrie forced you to. Your inability to solve a majority of the riddles could be considered very suspicious don't you think?"_

_*Luana hangs her head in shame*_

With 28,000 coins in the pot, the question still remains…

Who…Is…The…Mole?

**Polari**

_Surname: _Nebular

_Birthday: _October 25th

_Occupation:_ Retired Navigator

**Toadalina**

_Surname__: _Appleby

_Birthday__: _May 3rd

_Occupation__: _Waitress

**Bombette**

_Surname__: _Dynama

_Birthday__: _January 10th

_Occupation__: _Chemist

**Luana**

_Surname:_ Shelle

_Birthday__: _August 17th

_Occupation:_ Marine Biologist

**Merlow**

_Surname__: _Starborn

_Birthday__: _January 1st

_Occupation__: _Fortune Teller

**Lakilester**

_Surname:_ Nimbulis

_Birthday:_ July 30th

_Occupation:_ Pilot

**Blooey**

_Surname:_ Episseiche

_Birthday:_ March 15th

_Occupation:_ Chef

**Ruby**

_Surname:_ Mowz

_Birthday:_ November 7th

_Occupation:_ Saleswoman

**Flurrie**

_Surname:_ Evershade

_Birthday:_ February 29th

_Occupation__: _Actress

**Klutch**

_Surname:_ Koopa

_Birthday:_ August 23rd

_Occupation__: _Mechanic

* * *

Hotel Lavalava

The players were back at the hotel, and after a quick debriefing with Ballyhoo, they were shown their rooms.

"I will be assigning your roommates to you," Ballyhoo said, "So listen carefully." The players leaned forward to hear who they would be rooming with.

"Room 001 will have three occupants!" Ballyhoo announced, "Bombette, Toadalina, and Luana will be bunking together in that room."

"Eee!" Toadalina squealed, excited to be with Bombette.

_Toadalina__: If I've made a friend so far in this game, it would be Bombette. I mean Luana's pretty cool too…I guess_

The girls made their way to their room, bags in tow. The three women were assisted by a yellow yoshi who guided them to the first room in the hallway. Ballyhoo then announced the next pairing, "Room 002 will be occupied by Lakilester and Blooey."

"Alright," Lakilester laughed and bumped his fist with one of Blooey's tentacles. The two were met by the yellow yoshi who took them to room 002. Ballyhoo continued his assignment, "Room 003 will be occupied by Ruby and Flurrie."

The two women, indifferent with their opinions of one another, didn't seem bothered by the assignment. The yellow yoshi took their bags and led them to room 003, across the hall from room 001.

"Unfortunately, there are some problems with the watering in Room 004, so Polari and Klutch will be in Room 005."

Polari looked at the rough koopa kid, nervous to be bunking with him.

_Polari:__ Klutch is one of those people who I think kicks puppies in his spare time…I do hope he won't try anything_

The koopa kid flashed his pointy teeth at Polari, and the Luma gulped. Already casting himself as a dominant player by taking the free fall first, he intended to keep it that way.

_Klutch:__ I've made it clear that I came here to win, and I'm not afraid to play the "bad guy" role if that's what it takes._

"Well, I guess I'm sleeping alone," Merlow laughed in a weird manner.

"Well I guess you're right," Ballyhoo said back and Merlow was taken to Room 006 by himself.

"So," Luana began, opening up her journal, 'Who do you think the mole is?"

_Bombette:__ Luana is a very open person; I can tell by the way she presents herself. I didn't want to share my suspicions yet…so I thought I would have a little fun._

"Well, didn't you find it odd that Polari guessed incorrectly during the baggage claim challenge and stalled during the free fall?" Bombette asked aloud. Luana hurriedly wrote in her journal while Bombette laughed to herself. Toadalina eyed the scribbling noki and clicked her pen open.

**Suspects- 1. Luana, 2. Polari, 3. Klutch**

"Klutch scares me," Toadalina admitted with a shudder.

"I think he's just putting up a front," Luana shrugged off Toadalina's claim while she put her journal away. "I mean, whenever someone tries to be the big shot, then you know that's how they don't act at home. This is an opportunity to mask who you are completely, so I think he's a good guy on the inside."

_Bombette:__ I didn't realize how analytical Luana could be, Toadalina seemed amazed though. I like her a lot, but I think Toadalina's innocence can make her a bit unsuspecting at times._

"Wow," Toadalina said impressed by Luana's assertion and added some notes to her journal.

"Who do you think the mole is Bombette?" Luana asked with a playful smile.

Trying to dodge the question, Bombette nervously said, "I don't know yet."

"Oh come on," Luana teased, "You must have someone in mind."

"Tell us Bombette," Toadalina giggled.

"I can't eliminate anyone yet," Bombette smiled after she said this, "Even _you two_ are on my list," she added with a laugh.

The three girls squealed with laughter that could be heard in Room 002.

"Man, I hope they don't have a pillow fight or anything all night," Blooey complained.

_Lakilester__: I really like Blooey, but ever since the beginning of the baggage claim game, all he's been doing is complaining._

"Lighten up dude," Lakilester said, "They're just girls, probably discussing nail polish or something." Blooey smiled at Lakilester's idea and added seriously, "I think the mole is a girl."

Taken aback by Blooey's sudden change of topic, Lakilester said, "What makes you think that?"

"Well, I don't think you're the mole for one, Polari seems a bit too timid to be the mole, Merlow can't be it, he's too smart, and Klutch is super confident, it's never the confident ones."

"I could be the mole," Lakilester joked, but leveled his tone with a flat voice. Blooey looked up and down, "Nah man, it's a girl."

Lakilester looked at his journal, which rested on top of his bag. Picking it up and skimming through the pages the Lakitu said, "What are we supposed to do with this thing? Write down our feelings or something?"

"Probably our suspicions and clues we've picked up," Blooey answered at began writing in his.

"What're you writing?" Lakilester lowered his shades.

Blooey turned the journal around to show him page one. Scribbled in large bold letters were the words, **MOLE IS A GIRL**.

In Room 003, Ruby and Flurrie weren't talking much, but the wind spirit was busy writing in her journal. Her pen manically moved up and down the page. Trying to remember the riddle from earlier, Flurrie thought to herself, "The mole is closer than you think, that's what the riddle said right…"

Ruby opened up her journal to the first page, but couldn't think of what to write. Putting it down with a sigh, she started unpacking her bag into the small dresser that had been provided next to her bed. Studying Flurrie's movements out of the corners of her eyes she noticed that the actress was digging for something at the very bottom of her bag. Flurrie stole a clandestine look in Ruby's direction and the rummaging stopped.

_Ruby:__ Before I opened up the Lovely Howz of Badges in my home town of Rogueport, I used to be a treasure hunter. I know when someone is up to something and I can find the hidden meaning in things rather easily. I consider this as one of my many advantages in this game…and I thought Flurrie was up to something fishy._

Nothing else of significance occurred in Room 003 that afternoon, and since Room 004 was experiencing some problems with the waterworks, Room 005 came next.

The odd pairing were unpacking their things, and Polari nervously glanced at some of Klutch's belongings. Combat boots, shirts depicting rock bands and a black iPod were among the scattered items. Polari shivered when he noticed Klutch place a razor sharp pocket knife in his bedside drawer.

"What?" the koopa kid shrugged, noticing Polari's frightened glance, "You can't ever be too careful."

Polari shuddered and fluffed his pillow. The elderly luma carefully floated down onto his bed and relaxed. Taking out his journal, he began to write about the experiences of the day so far and what had drawn his suspicions.

_Polari__: I was so confused on who the mole could be, I think the first quiz is the hardest, because honestly anyone could be the mole. It seemed as if sabotage was pervasive in the baggage claim game, so I couldn't really pinpoint anyone down. I was just writing in my journal so Klutch would think I was on to something._

"I don't see the need for those things," Klutch scowled at the journal in Polari's hands.

"I think they're helpful," the luma retorted.

The two could already tell that their stay together was going to be bumpy.

In Room 006, Merlow was the odd man out. The only clothes he had brought with him were a copious amount of baggy blue robes and the leather shoes he wore all the time. Carefully lifting a purple glass ball out of his bag, Merlow set the sphere on his dresser with perfect precision. It rested directly in the middle of the wood, resting on a metal holder, and the black and fuchsia inside of it was swirling around like a vortex. His crystal ball was extremely special to him, and he smiled as he began to make himself at home.

Room 006 soon became almost an exact replica of the Starborn Valley shop Merlow had left behind. Star pieces sparkled in every corner of the room, and Merlow polished his crystal ball with love and care. Placing it back on its stand, he turned his attention to his journal.

_Merlow:__ I have a knack for reading the energy that people put off, it's something of a special trait. Each member of the House of Merlon has a special ability, like for instance my father Merle can sense when bad things are approaching, and he's always right. My auntie Merlee can read the future through cards, and my grandpa Merlon can see almost anything through his crystal ball. When Flurrie and Luana were over at that riddle table, my special talent definitely kicked in, and I knew that things weren't as they seemed over there._

Merlow began recording everything he remembered from that day, from the appearance of the boat he arrived on to who was in what room. Satisfied with his sleuthing efforts, he looked at the clock.

5:13

Ballyhoo had given them the rest of the day off, and they were to meet in the dining room at 7 o'clock for dinner. Yawning and sprawling out on his bed, but not pulling down his hood, Merlow decided to succumb to his drowsiness and take a well-deserved nap.

**ROOM 001**

"So you guys," Toadalina began, interrupting the writing that Bombette and Luana were doing in their journals, "Did anyone see what Merlow looked like under that oversized hood today?"

Looking up from her writing Luana asked, "Like, when did it come off?"

"When we were climbing down off the helicopter," Toadalina said, "The wind whipped it right off his head and his face was exposed. It was black, pitch black like the night, it wasn't ugly it was just…weird."

"Wow," Bombette muttered, "He must be some crazy fortune teller species. I got my fortune read by Merlon back when I adventured with Mario, and he appeared pretty human but I never saw his hands, head or anything. I guess they just keep their bodies sequestered and let their minds do all the work."

"Well, it does a make a difference in the game, so it really doesn't bother me," Luana said.

"He could have like, telekinetic powers and already know who the mole is!" Toadalina shrieked in semi-fake fright.

_Luana:__ Toadalina seems a bit…dreamy, I like her, I do, but I don't think she's really focused on finding out who the mole is._

"He couldn't," Luana corrected, "They wouldn't let him on the show."

"I guess you're right," Bombette agreed with the noki, but Toadalina seemed to remain firm to her beliefs. Luana sighed and fell back on the bed, closing her eyes and wondering what Toadalina could possibly fantasize next.

**ROOM 002**

"Answer me straight man, you think any of the girls here are cute?" Lakilester asked Blooey while they were playing a game of cards.

Blooey drew his next card, cursed his bad luck and looked up at Lakilester; "Well..." he began.

"Who is it?" Lakilester asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I think Luana's pretty cool, she just seems really down to earth and all about having a good time. She's also pretty cute as well," Blooey admitted.

Lakilester shot him a mischievous smile, but Blooey changed the conversation, "You've known Bombette for a while, you think she could be the mole?"

Lakilester but Blooey's love life on the back burner and replied, "Well man, Mario didn't pick me up til' near the end of his journey, so I didn't really get to know the others that well. Besides, Bombette was already buddy-buddy with Watt and Sushie and she didn't really try to get to know me. From what I remember, she's pretty laid back but can get feisty, so yeah I think she could be the mole."

Blooey took a break from the card game to write this description of Bombette in his journal, and then after munching on a cheese puff said to Lakilester, "Your turn."

"Oh, right," Lakilester reminded himself and returned to the game.

**ROOM 003**

_Flurrie:__ I was having no success at cracking the clue the mole had left for me. It seemed so simple, but it just didn't make any sense!_

"Whatchya working on?" Ruby asked the wind spirit, who hadn't stopped looking at her journal for the last thirty minutes.

"Oh nothing," Flurrie snapped and closed the journal, trying to pass off her clue-solving as some nonchalant writing session. Ruby shrugged and plopped down on her bed, popping a piece of bubblegum in her mouth.

"So, are you the mole?" Ruby asked.

"Might be," Flurrie said quietly.

"You were quick to deny it back at those hot springs," Ruby commented.

"That was in the heat of the game, and maybe I was just trying to throw everyone off," Flurrie replied.

"I think it worked on them," Ruby said, "Your passion seemed genuine, but it doesn't slip by me. I'm not crossing you, or anyone for that matter, off of my list until I get cold hard proof."

"Well good luck, because you won't find anything pointing to me," Flurrie waved a dismissive hand, and noticed the clock read,

6:08

About fifty minutes until dinner. Flurrie grabbed her purse and Ruby questioned,

"Going out?"

"I think I might check out the rest of the hotel, might give me an advantage in the next challenge or something," Flurrie said back.

"Mind if I tag along?" Ruby asked.

"Not a bit," Flurrie forced a smile and Ruby hopped off the bed and followed her roommate out into the hallway.

**ROOM 005**

Klutch was snoring heavily and Polari winced each time the koopa kid took a loud breath of air. The luma thought he would awaken from some violent dream and tear him apart. Deciding to leave his roommate to his slumber, Polari opened the door as quietly as possible and floated out into the hall.

The closing of the door, not as loud as it could be but loud enough to create a sound stirred Klutch from his sleep and he rose with a grumpy visage.

"Must've been on his way out," Klutch grumbled as he settled back down to resume his nap.

**ROOM 006**

By this time, Merlow had completely arranged his room and finished his writing. Rising from his comfortable down bed and glancing at the clock, he noticed the device read

6:33

Deciding to take a shower before he went down to dinner, Merlow entered the bathroom and turned on the showerhead. Water began sprinkling down in a tight circular fashion and as steam rose to the ceiling, he disrobed and entered the scalding waters. His eyes opened in alarm, much to the protest of his relaxed shoulders, as he thought he heard the bathroom door open. Deciding against this thought and facing away from the shower curtain to pick up the creamy body wash that was provided by the hotel, Merlow didn't even notice the scene unfolding behind him. By the time his shower was over, the intruder was gone and Merlow was none the wiser.

**HOTEL LOBBY**

"Well I think we've seen just about everything we can see," Flurrie said as she and her mousey companion retraced their steps to the lobby.

"Well it's almost time for dinner, I say we just hang out here until Ballyhoo makes the call," Ruby said as Flurrie began wondering towards the rooms.

"Well alright," Flurrie protested weakly and settled down in a chair next to Ruby.

"Honestly," the squeek began, leaning in close to Flurrie, "I've already got a few suspicions of my own, and if you're privy to my thoughts, we could make a deal."

Flurrie raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the white mouse and pursed her lips in doubt. Wondering what valuable information Ruby had picked up on the very first day made Flurrie extremely wary of her. "Besides," Flurrie thought, "I already have my own suspicions…but she could shed light on a few things."

"Go on," Flurrie tried to sound genuinely oblivious to any current sings of deception.

"Only if you agree to…a coalition," Ruby stared down the ghostly woman.

_Flurrie:__ I did not want to get wrapped in a coalition with Ruby of all people…I think the most erudite of all of us here is that Merlow, he's being quiet…but I value information as well, and I think that's what made me say yes._

"You've got a deal," Flurrie whispered.

"Alright," Ruby leaned in closer, "From what I've seen so far," she sniffed her snout in the air, "Polari has been acting rather fishy."

"Him? Bah, he's just old," Flurrie laughed nonchalantly.

"Seriously though, think about it. He stalled on the free fall and only did it when he saw how tight of a position he was in, and just because I wear red lipstick doesn't mean no one else here does!" Ruby's voice grew a little loud.

"Quiet dear," Flurrie advised, "Honestly, I don't think the mole would sabotage so heavily on the first episode. Polari's just old and feeble that's all, give people time to settle in before we start making accusations."

Ruby noticed Polari rounding the corner and nudged her coalition partner, "The first execution is after the next challenge, I think we've given everyone plenty of time to settle in."

**ROOM 006**

Merlow stepped out of the shower with haste, tossing on a new blue cloak and smoothing his patch of blonde hair. Wanting to adjust the clasp on his cloak, he darted into the bathroom to see how it looked. Rushing in quickly, his breath caught in his throat when he saw the words.

Written on the steamy mirror, someone had used their finger to scribble the evaporating message on the glass. _It's more than just a name, _was what the wording read. "Perhaps they had meant to right game?" Merlow thought, confirming his suspicions about hearing someone in the bathroom. "How did they sneak in so unnoticed?" At that exact thought, Merlow's eyes lit up and his first accusation was clear in his mind. However, completely unbeknownst to the fortune teller, by the time his suspicion had ran across his mind, he had forgotten all about the words on the mirror as they disappeared with the cooling room.

Stealing a look at the clock before he ducked out the door Merlow noted it was five minutes until dinner.

* * *

"Ah, there you are Merlow," Ballyhoo smiled as the tenth player joined them. Everyone else was already there and under the hood of his cloak Merlow blushed. Following the host into the dining room, everyone was very talkative about the day's events.

"I didn't know that it would be like this," Toadalina gawked at the candlelit room and the tuxedoed waiters awaiting their command. A fine linen tablecloth graced the floor and everyone took a seat in one of the fine mahogany chairs. Comfortable with their seating, everyone noted the renaissance themed artwork that hung from the walls and the refulgent crystal chandelier that hung from the ceiling. Water goblets were filled to the brim and lovely roses rested in vases, the condensation on the side reflecting the cerise flower and appearing to be little droplets of rubies.

"How do you like it?" Ballyhoo smiled to the players as a yoshi poured him a glass of champagne.

"It's magnificent!" Blooey remarked as he took a sip of water.

"A toast," Lakilester said as he held his glass high, "To the mole."

"To the mole," everyone chanted in unison as the sound of clinking glasses signaled the start of their meal.

"How is the salmon?" Klutch asked a waiter, pointing to the name of the dish on his menu with a sharpened claw, "Is it tender?"

"Like biting into a cloud," the pink yoshi next to him commented.

"I'll have that then," Klutch decided with a nod.

Everyone decided on their dish and the blue yoshi who seemed to be serving as the head of the meal asked aloud, "Any appetizers while you wait?"

"Oh an order of calamari would be nice," Bombette smiled at the waiter and he dashed off.

"Hey! You're eating my people!" Blooey cried aghast.

"Oh calm down," Ruby patted his nearly non-existent shoulder.

Blooey folded his tentacles over his chest and shot Bombette an annoyed look, she only laughed and turned to Luana, talking about something else entirely.

Flurrie, unlike anyone else so far that day, was in deep conversation with Merlow.

"So, are you having a nice time so far?" Flurrie asked as the psychic took a sip of water.

"Oh well, you know I'm just trying to play the game," Merlow almost mumbled.

"Speak up darling, I can't hear you," Flurrie said as she popped a piece of calamari in her mouth. Merlow smiled and said again,

"Just playing the game."

"Well, I think you're strategy is a brilliant one. Keeping a closed mouth but open ears is an easy way to read a crowd," the actress lauded. Merlow blushed once more, hidden to all under his cloak.

"It's almost like reading the stars," Merlow added, "you have to be careful or you could interpret a vague clue to someone's love life as an ominous warning instead of a warm spark."

"Is all of that real?" Flurrie seemed dubious about Merlow's occupation.

"Very," Merlow sounded confident in his work, "It's all about the constellations, the night sky paints our lives for us and most of us don't even notice it."

"Hmm," Flurrie made the noise aloud, "I guess I'll have to look up more."

Klutch and Lakilester were in a heated debate over the Glitz Pit when the food came.

"Alright, so you honestly believe that the K.P. Koopas have a better shot than the Mind Bogglers?" Lakilester seemed outraged at this statement.

"It's all about attitude you carry," Klutch sounded experienced on this topic, "The K.P. Koopas have guts, and that's what it takes to win a battle. Not the mental tricks that the Mind Bogglers try to pass over as skill."

Lakilester shook his head as the steaming plate of pasta was put in front of him and turning his attention to the delicately prepared dish in front of him, he forgot all about the discussion with Klutch.

"We're living in excess," Toadalina giggled as she chomped down on a piece of roast beef and Luana nodded her in agreement between mouthfuls of salad.

"You don't like meat?" Polari sounded horrified at the idea as he asked the noki.

"Not really, I prefer natural foods," Luana smiled as she continued eating her leafy meal. Polari shook his head in pity for Luana's deprived taste buds and returned to his choice of steamed crab. Everyone was enjoying the meal, but Bombette seemed a little bothered by what was on Ballyhoo's plate.

"Is that…turtle soup?" she asked.

"Why as a matter of fact it is Bombette!" Ballyhoo flashed the pink bob-omb a glistening grin as he moved the shell around in his bowl. Bombette looked completely grossed out and finished her meal.

"How can you eat that," she asked as her face paled, starting to look like a ghost.

"It's an acquired taste," Ballyhoo said and Bombette agreed with him as everyone else finished up their meals and conversed heartily. When dinner was over, the ten players filed out into the lobby, and Ballyhoo bid them goodnight.

"Roll call is precisely at 7:00 am so be here sharp!" he called as the left.

Everyone groaned and shot each other looks of contempt for their host as they went to bed with the thoughts full of exciting memories from their first day on Lavalava Island. Free falling, a jungle trek, saving bags from timed geysers and exploring the hotel all in one day suddenly hit them all like a sedative and soon enough they were asleep.

Except for one, that one was busy with their thoughts, pretending to doze away in the dead of the night as they meticulously thought out how to sabotage in the next day's challenge. That person, mysterious to all and pervasive in their knowledge…is the mole.

* * *

**Hehehe, so I know I said the players would receive their next challenge this chapter, but I decided to make this one a bit shorter and focus more on individual interactions between the characters. Next episode, the third challenge will really begin and with it, the first execution! Who will be the first to leave Lavalava Island after such a short stay, who will continue on to the dawn of a new day, and who is the mole?**

**Thanks to everyone who had read and reviewed so far!**

**-AdmiralBobbery**


	4. The First to Depart

Episode 1 Part 4

Meeting in the dining room for breakfast, the ten players conversed openly while the dined on scrumptious food. Fresh fruit and steaming meats adorned the plates of every player, and exotic juices filled their cups. Gobbling down the lavish meal like it was their last, the players were beginning to adapt to the high end lifestyle of the game.

"So, how did everyone sleep?" Ballyhoo asked with a grin.

"Oh it was phenomenal," Flurrie said with her normal dramatic flair, "Let me tell you Ballyhoo, these beds must be made of feathers or something, they are just so soft."

"Well, I didn't think it was that great," Klutch said, with a snicker at Flurrie's remarks.

"So cut to the chase Ballyhoo," Blooey said between mouthfuls of egg, "What's going on today?"

"Would you like to know?" the host asked with a secretive smile.

"I asked didn't I?" Blooey sounded confused.

"Absolutely nothing," Ballyhoo said flatly.

"What!?" the squid nearly spit out his pomegranate juice.

"You heard me," Ballyhoo said, "Considering that your first two days here were extremely eventful, what with the free falling and high stakes situation your bags were placed in, I thought I'd give you the day off, in preparation for your first execution." The last few words of his statement had an ominous ring to them.

"I guess that's true," Merlow murmured, "But I sure was just getting into the fast paced motion of this game."

"Well, not everything about this game happens quickly," Ballyhoo said. "If you think about it, the passage of time depends on whose perspective you are standing from. For example, just watching the ten of you jump off of that platform or running to save your bags, I thought the progression of time was rather slow. On the other hand, to you, the activity of the challenges made the time you were moving in seem to go by fast, but in reality, time moves at exactly the same pace every single day."

"Hmm, I've never thought about it that way," Ruby said as she sipped her mango juice.

"Something to think about," Lakilester mumbled.

"Well, it may seem profound to you, but all I'm thinking about is this delicious bacon," Klutch laughed as he reached for another piece of the smoked meat. Receiving a disgusted look from Flurrie for his table manners, the koopa kid shot the wind spirit a devilish grin to which the actress turned her head.

"You're unusually quiet this morning Toadalina," Polari remarked as he bit into his sausage link.

"Well, I've just been thinking about who the mole is," the waitress replied. Her words sent a thick cloud of mystery amongst the players, and in their revelry they had forgotten about the true purpose of the game.

"I've been so concentrated on participating in the tasks and chatting with everyone, that I haven't given thought to the greater mystery that surrounds us," Luana said, supporting her roommates belief, "We all may be growing close to one another, but at the heart of the matter, one of us is a traitor."

No one spoke for about ten seconds, and then Bombette spoke up, "I think the mole isn't necessarily a traitor, just someone with a job to do. After my time here, I don't think I'll blame the mole for much."

"Heck I would," Lakilester commented, "The mole has already cost us tons of coin!"

"But if you think about it, was the mole really at work? Or was he or she just watching as our own team failed to unite," Polari said with a sage-like demeanor.

"Things to think about," Ballyhoo summed up the conversation and rose to his feet.

"Where are you going?" Blooey asked with curiosity.

"Somewhere…" was all the host said before he briskly left the dining room.

"I think Ballyhoo is mysterious as well," Flurrie added.

"Everyone is mysterious in their own way," Ruby said between bites of toast.

"That's true as well," the wind spirit commented.

Done with breakfast, the players decided to head back to their rooms to collect some things. Having decided to spend the day laying out in the sun and swimming off the beaches of Lavalava Island, the ten returned to their rooms to grab bathing suits and sunscreen.

Reaching her room first, because it was closet, Toadalina gripped the door handle and gave it a turn. The mechanism stopped halfway and reverted to its original position with opposition to the operator's command.

"Hey! The door is locked!" Toadalina called out in disbelief.

"No way," Luana groaned, joining her toad companion by the door. Giving it a try, the noki received the same results.

"Did one of you lock it by accident when we left for breakfast?" Bombette asked seriously.

"I don't think either of your roommates are guilty," Blooey said, "Our door is locked to."

"Are you kidding?" Lakilester complained, "This can't be a coincidence!"

"Room 003 is locked tight," Ruby confirmed the group's suspicions when she and Flurrie joined the mix of confusion.

"I guess I shouldn't bother trying ours, it's probably locked as well," Polari shrugged his shoulders.

"You're right," Klutch agreed with his roommate as he tested the lock.

"Merlow?" Flurrie turned to the fortune teller, who was coming down the hall.

"I'm sure you already know the answer," Merlow smiled at the actress who presumed that his door was locked.

"Like everyone else's," Merlow said.

"Ugh! How can we have a day off if our rooms are locked?" Toadalina whined.

"Because today is not a day off," Polari said with grievance as he reached the answer to their myriad of questions.

"Right you are Polari," Ballyhoo's voice rang out from behind the jumbled group.

"Ballyhoo!" Luana groaned.

"Lied to you I did," the host faked lamentation, "In reality the next phase of the game begins right now."

"As in a challenge?" Ruby asked.

"That's exactly it," Ballyhoo laughed as the ten players moaned in mourning of their perished day off.

"Don't get too upset yet, because there is also something else you should be worried about," Ballyhoo said with seriousness, "Your first execution is tonight."

"Already?" Lakilester asked in disbelief, "But we've all just gotten to know one another."

Ballyhoo shrugged with indifference to their woe and cried out, "Follow me, to Magmar Lagoon."

* * *

Filing out of the deceptive hut behind Ballyhoo, the players began to talk excitedly amongst themselves. Floating up to Blooey on his cloud, Lakilester tapped on the squid's shoulders and pulled him a bit behind the others, where they couldn't hear them but their distance wasn't anything to be suspicious of.

"Hey dude, I've got somethin' to ask you," Lakilester began by adjusting his shades.

"What's up man?" Blooey leaned in after his words.

"I was thinking, you and I should partner up," Lakilester said.

"As in…a coalition?" Blooey sounded surprised.

_Lakilester:__ I didn't know what to think of Blooey's initial reaction, but all I knew was that I was about to take a quiz tonight that I knew none of the answers to._

"Deal," Blooey stated firmly.

"Awesome dude," Lakilester and Blooey shook hands, in Blooey's case a tentacle, and filled in the small gap between them and the rest of the players. Hoping to play off of one another's information garnered thus far, the pair felt a boost of confidence in their place in the game.

"Lord it is simply sweltering," Flurrie gushed with a wave of her hand.

"Do you always have to be so dramatic?" Klutch asked with an annoyed glare, picking some bacon out of his teeth.

"I find you revolting," Flurrie announced.

"Good," was all Klutch said in response.

* * *

Coming to the edge of the lagoon, the team of ten and their host surveyed the lush land. In the midst of the tropical flora and fauna, a steaming lagoon lay before them. Filling up a wide indentation of rocks, the lagoon's water cascaded down several layers or rock, forming miniscule waterfalls among the nooks and crannies of the area. The white wisps of steam rising off the water were a clear indication of its temperature, and the hot waters went on for what seemed a very wide expanse. Crystal clear waters allowed the eye to notice vibrant and diverse corals peppering the bottom and multicolored fish and other species of aquatic animals enjoyed the depths and shallows.

"Welcome to Magmar Lagoon!" Ballyhoo said grandly.

"Wow…," Bombette breathed, "This place is…," she couldn't find the right word.

"Magical," Toadalina summed it up for the pink bob-omb.

"Totally," Luana agreed.

"Where is the heat of the water coming from?" Merlow's astute observation drew the attention of Ballyhoo.

"Well Merlow," the host began, tapping his large foot on the ground in concentration, "That is certainly a good question!"

Merlow shook his head, disappointed with the host's lack of knowledge. Ballyhoo shrugged and after allowing everyone to marvel at the beauty of the lagoon, began to speak.

"So, you all are probably wondering what your locked rooms and Magmar Lagoon have in common?" Ballyhoo spoke their very thoughts.

"I'm assuming you'll tell us," Polari spoke for everyone.

"That I will," Ballyhoo said, "But first, I need everyone to do me a little favor."

Confused at his request, everyone curiously took a slip of paper and a pen from his hand as the host passed them around. When everyone had a piece of paper and something to write with, Ballyhoo clapped his hands.

"Wonderful, now this may seem a bit rushed, but everyone has their first impressions. I need each of you to write the name of the person you like the least here amongst you, and I am not an option," Ballyhoo laughed at his joke, but many of them had seriously considered writing his name.

"My, that's awful," Flurrie commented with a hand on her breast, but she already knew the name of her choice. Scribbling it down in a flash, the wind spirit clicked the spring of the pen she was using back into place.

_Polari:__ Everyone here seemed alright to me, so I just wrote down the first name that popped into my head._

"Now that that's taken care of, please return the pens and slips to me," Ballyhoo instructed and collecting the materials he said.

"Well, it seems as if the pairs for today's challenge have been decided," the host squealed with excitement.

"Wait…you don't mean?" Klutch raised an eyebrow at the host, who only smiled.

"Are trying to ask if you'll be paired up with the person you like the least?" Ballyhoo shot the question at Klutch.

The koopa kid, obviously worried, opened his mouth but Ballyhoo cut him off.

"Nope, that was just for my personal curiosity!" Ballyhoo's mouth hung wide open and the area boomed with his laughter. Annoyed, the players grew impatient, awaiting the contents of the task.

Coming to his senses from all the laughter, Ballyhoo adjusted his cuff links and said, "In order to get back into your rooms, you'll be working with your roommate to find the key." Merlow looked a bit worried, but Ballyhoo reassured him by saying, "In the case of Merlow, he'll be paired up with someone from the group of three. So, let's arrange the pairs and then I'll talk more about the challenge."

"The first pair is Bombette and Luana," the two girls got together as the host spoke, "The next pair is Toadalina and Merlow." The waitress and fortune teller paired up, and Ballyhoo continued. "The third pair is Ruby and Flurrie." The squeek and wind spirit were already near one another, so they didn't move. "The fourth pair is Blooey and Lakilester," Ballyhoo exclaimed as the coalition mates pounded fist and tentacle. "Assuming you're already aware, but I'll say it anyway, the last pair is Klutch and Polari," Ballyhoo allocated the last pair and everyone looked at the host with eagerness in their eyes.

"To get back into your room, you have exactly three hours to do so. All ten of you will swim the waters of Magmar Lagoon, and try to locate the key that goes to your room. Toadalina will be helping Merlow search for his room key, so don't worry about Bombette and Luana, Toadalina," the host looked at the toad girl and she nodded. Continuing, Ballyhoo said, "There five rooms, so only five keys in the lagoon will work. To make things a bit more interesting, one hundred keys have been scattered about the floor of the lagoon, and only five are the correct ones."

_Ruby:__ When I heard that, I began to look at the challenge in a whole new way. I think I started to doubt we could complete this challenge._

"Once you've retrieved a key, you must run back to the hotel and try it out on your door, and if it doesn't work then you must run back here and try to find a new one. For every door that is successfully opened, 4,000 coins will be added to the pot. That makes this challenge worth 20,000 coins," Ballyhoo finished his instructions.

"We have to win this guys," Blooey said aloud with determination. The rest of the team nodded in support of his statement, except for one.

"Ironically, you noticed your doors were locked when you all went to retrieve your swimsuits, but all of them are here with me, so you can change into them," Ballyhoo said.

"What if our luggage was destroyed?" Klutch asked in an annoyed tone.

"I think you'll find that may not be the case if you manage to open your door," Ballyhoo noted with another one of his mysterious smiles. Handing out the proper swim gear to everyone, Lakilester spoke up once looking around the area again.

"Where do we change into these?" Lakilester asked.

"In the bushes," Ballyhoo answered with a flat voice.

"Well…" Lakilester blushed.

"Oh come off it," Polari said, "I'm sure you've been through worse."

"Dude, you don't even wear clothes," Lakilester looked the luma up and down.

"Point taken," the old star raised his eyebrows with agreement.

After changing the players me at the bank of the lagoon, and Ballyhoo looked at his watch.

"In three…two…one…begin!" He shouted.

* * *

With a cacophonous splash, all ten players jumped into the hot waters at once. Being an excellent swimmer, Luana tore ahead of the rest and immediately dived down, searching for a key.

_Luana:__ I was on the research team that discovered Eely-Mouth's presence in Noki Bay, so swimming in lagoons is second nature to me. My strategy was to just grab the first key I saw and sprint back to the hotel with it._

Fumbling under the surface, Merlow tried to grab at the rocks, searching for a key. Due to the extreme clarity of the water, opening your eyes underneath was nearly close to normal vision. Thinking to check a less obvious place for a key, Merlow ran his hand along the spot directly underneath the breach between land and water, discovering a small metal object.

"A key!" Was what Merlow tried to shout, but his words were garbled by the water. Floating back to the surface, Merlow broke the water with a victorious smile. His cloak was sopping wet, as he had elected not to change out of it.

"I found a key!" The fortune teller said to Ballyhoo, who replied with, "Then get going!"

Remembering the full context of the challenge, Merlow tried to run for the hotel, but his wet cloak restricted him. After about five minutes, he was barely halfway there.

* * *

Back underwater, Flurrie was having trouble staying submerged, while Lakilester was moving freely, unrestricted by the cloud he had left behind on the bank. The Lakitu was so busy searching behind corals and rocks for hidden keys that he missed one neatly deposited on the sand beneath him. It didn't escape the eye of Flurrie however.

Fighting to stay submerged, the wind spirit dove down with force and clasped her purple fingers around the key. Squealing excitedly, which lead to bubbles escaping her mouth, Flurrie floated to the surface with a key in possession. Several heads broke the water with her; however they were all out of breath as opposed to making off with a key.

"Go Flurrie!" Ruby cheered while she treaded water, noticing her teammate dashing for the hotel.

Arriving at the hotel at the same time as Merlow, Flurrie was a bit boggled.

_Flurrie:__ I find Merlow very interesting, and I personally don't believe he's the mole. But the fact that he refused to remove his cloak seriously slowed him down, and I think it was a tad suspicious even if it was a personal reason._

Arriving in the hallway, Flurrie and Merlow split up to test the keys out on their rooms. Jamming hers into the lock, Flurrie tried twisting the key back and forth but nothing happened.

"Drat!" Flurrie spat as she quickly floated to the exit. Merlow tried his key to, but to no avail. Sighing with fatigue, the fortune teller turned around and made way for the lagoon.

* * *

At the lagoon, Bombette and Luana kept close, so they would have two sets of eyes working on one area. Spotting something shiny by a piece of pink coral, Bombette motioned for Luana to follow her. Reaching the spot, Bombette found nothing, and wondered what had shined. Pointing to the surface, Bombette rose to the top with Luana in tow.

"I thought I saw something shine," Bombette said, and Luana understood.

"Well, let's get back down there and try again," the noki smiled lightly and dove down into the water. Bombette, still wondering what had caught her eye, shrugged in the water and joined her companion once more.

* * *

Not needing to come up for air, Blooey decided to swim all the way to the end of the lagoon, and when he came up to the surface to measure how far he was from the other players, he was quite surprised.

_Blooey:__ I swam and swam and swam until I reached the edge of the lagoon, and boy I was much farther from the others than I had imagined._

Diving down, Blooey instantly spotted a key wedged between some blue leafy coral. Speeding off like a torpedo towards the other ends of the lagoon, Blooey's specialized tentacles kicked into gear. Spinning madly in congruence to a motor boat, the tentacles acted like a propeller and Blooey was at the other end in no time.

"I got one," Blooey waved the key at Lakilester, who was above water.

"Awesome, I just found one too," the Lakitu joined his partner on land and together they headed off for the hotel. About this time, Bombette and Luana had just finished searching a section of the reef and had stumbled upon a ring of keys stashed in some rocky crevice.

"There are three keys on here!" Bombette couldn't hold in her excitement and handed them off to Luana as the noki darted for the hotel. Arriving there at the same time, Blooey, Lakilester, and Luana all went to their doors.

"You found multiple keys?" Lakilester asked Luana in shock.

"They were all together on this ring, I wonder if there are more like this," the noki woman voiced her thoughts as she came to her door. Sticking the first key in, the lock didn't budge. The same result was derived from the second attempt. On the third attempt, a sharp click resonated throughout the hall and the door to Room 001 opened.

"I'm in!" Luana couldn't believe her luck and Lakilester and Blooey high-fived her as 4,000 coins entered the pot.

"Try yours," she advised Lakilester and Blooey, who were about to so anyway. Both of the keys were duds though, and the group headed for the door. Reaching the reef, Luana announced to the other players who were above water their success.

"We got our room open Bombette!" Luana said excitedly and Ballyhoo clapped his hands.

"Congratulations, you've only burned 33 minutes and there are only four doors left," Ballyhoo said in his theatrical tone. Luana turned to Lakilester and Blooey, who still needed to hunt for their key.

"Ballyhoo never said anything about us not being able to help each other right?" The noki asked with a grin, "So why don't Bombette and I keep looking for keys?"

"That's a great idea!" Blooey agreed and all three of them reentered the steaming lagoon.

* * *

Polari and Klutch were investigating a patch of coral, when Polari stumbled upon a key attached to a fish that passed by.

"Whoa! Did you see that?" The luma asked his koopa kid companion.

"See what? It was only fish," Klutch sounded annoyed.

"No, I swear one of those fish had a key tied to its fin," Polari and Klutch had come up for air to discuss their lack of success.

"Then go chase it, I'll be looking in logical places, not the whims of my imagination," Klutch spat definitively and dove back down.

_Polari:__ I swear my mind wasn't playing tricks on me, that fish had a key attached to it! And whether Klutch liked it or not, I was going to track that fish down._

Separating, the pair swam in different directions. Remembering the fish to be yellow with purple stripes, Polari shouted the information to the rest of the players above water, who nodded with confirmation of his theory. Deciding to look around more until the fish came by again, Polari dove underwater.

**2 hours and 18 minutes left on the clock. **

* * *

On the bank, Ruby, Toadalina, and Blooey all set off with new keys, while the other players continued their searches. Reaching the hotel for a second time, Blooey inserted the key into his door. Kicking the structure when the device failed on him, the squid cursed under his breath while he scrambled back to the lagoon. Ruby hadn't even tried hers yet, but Toadalina had already failed to procure the correct key.

_Click!_

"Hey! My key works!" Ruby said with delight and Toadalina cheered with her.

"That is like, so totally awesome!" Toadalina and Ruby ran back to the lagoon and deposited their keys with Ballyhoo, sharing the news with the rest of the team.

"That's 8,000 more coins in the pot, and 23 keys exhausted," Ballyhoo drew up the stats of the game for the players and they all got back to searching.

* * *

Deep in another portion of the lagoon, Klutch searched the corals and alcoves for any sign of a key. Parting a patch of sea grass, the koopa kid was about finished with this task until his eyes landed on a peculiar shining object. Picking up the item, he studied the thing under the water. It was a coin, large and green, and the koopa kid flipped it over and choked on the water around him as he read the words. Printed in big bold letters on the coin was one meaningful word…exemption.

Heading for the surface, Klutch decided to conceal the exemption in the cargo pocket of his swim trunks. Heart giddy with secretive knowledge, a million thoughts raced through his head. He had just located the first exemption of the game, and although he hadn't found any keys yet, this discovery was worth the whole hundred.

_Klutch:__ I knew the other players would immediately suspect me if I announced I had the exemption, so I decided to stow it away and go back to hunting for keys. Besides, they were probably already starting to get suspicious since I had yet to find a key._

* * *

"Two hours left!" Ballyhoo called from the shore, and with that, one third of their time had been used up.

"We've got to find our key," Lakilester said to Blooey. The pair was on the other side of the lagoon, back where Blooey had originally searched. After fumbling around in the rocks for a key, they finally came across one.

"You take it back, and I'll try and find another one," Lakilester said to Blooey, opting to stay behind due to the squid's alacritous swimming skill. Nodding in agreement, Blooey sped off for the shore, with the key in tentacle. Bombette met him at the shore, armed with a key of her own.

"Luana and I thought we'd still help even though our door is unlocked," the pink bob-omb explained.

"Yeah I know, Luana already told us," Blooey huffed between exhausted breaths as he began yet another trek to the hotel. Together, they reached the rooms and Blooey fished around his many tentacles for the key.

"That's odd, I was sure I had it," Blooey looked his many appendages over again.

"What?" Bombette asked angrily, "You came back without a key?"

"I swear I had it!" Blooey held up his plethora of arms in defense. Bombette cut her eyes and tested her key; no luck. Returning to the lagoon, Blooey and Bombette were instantly spotted by Merlow.

"Did any of the keys work?" Merlow asked.

"Key, as in one," Bombette corrected the fortune teller, "Mr. Mole here showed up to the hotel without a key."

"What?" Merlow was stunned, "Well there's nothing we can do about it now, just look for more," with that he dove into the water, leaving the two players alone on the bank.

_Bombette:__ I found it extremely suspicious that Blooey came to the hotel without a key; I mean who would do that other than the Mole?_

_Blooey:__ I swear I had that key when I left! It's hard to keep track of what you're holding when you've got this many arms, but I know I had it. I must've dropped it or something…_

Diving back into the water, the blooper and bob-omb resumed their search.

* * *

"Ruby darling, Luana and Bombette are still searching for keys so I suggest we do the same," Flurrie advised her partner and the squeek nodded.

"Let's look by the waterfalls, we haven't done that yet," Ruby suggested and Flurrie followed her to the falling waters. Diving under them, they were surprised at the number of keys littering the floor. Grabbing one a piece, Ruby and Flurrie swam back to shore and alerted the others of the treasures at the waterfall.

"There's about six more keys there," Ruby said, "One of them has to work."

Making way for the hotel, the wind spirit and her roommate took off.

* * *

Back in the water however, Polari was still trying to nab the fish he had seen earlier. Recruiting Luana to his cause, the elderly luma was waiting by some unusual coral with the noki.

"I think I see his school coming back this way," Polari said, "I saw him first by this green coral, so I think his species might like it. The key is hanging off his fin, so all we have to do is snatch it off."

Diving underwater as soon as the shoal passed by, Luana snagged the key right before it got away.

"You were right!" Luana said in laud of Polari's suspicion.

"Why don't you take it back to the hotel, I'm not as fast as I used to be," Polari admitted and Luana nodded. Swimming to shore and running for the hotel, Luana was sure that the key Polari had discovered would work.

* * *

In the hotel, Ruby and Flurrie tried both their keys on the doors of the other players, but nothing worked. Just as they were about to leave, Luana hustled in.

"We got this one off a fish, so I think it's got to work," the blue noki exclaimed as she tried Blooey and Lakilester's lock. Staying behind to see if she was successful, Ruby and Flurrie hoped Luana's thinking was right. Sticking the key in the lock, Luana turned the device and Room 002 opened with a creak.

"Alright!" Luana shouted, "That's our third one!"

Cheering for the team, the three women headed back to the lagoon, adding another 4,000 coins to the pot.

"At this rate, I think we might make the full earnings, how positively perfect!" Flurrie batted her large eyelashes at the thought derived from the statement she had just made.

"That's another one," Ruby said to Ballyhoo as they arrived, who announced the statistics again.

"Three doors have been opened, so 12,000 coins have been added to the pot. Only 1 hour and 13 minutes remain, so get busy!" The host was heard by all players.

Jumping back into the water once more, all three women headed for the waterfall. Blooey and Lakilester were still searching by the far end, while Klutch had met up with Polari once more. Bombette swam over to Luana as she reached the waterfall, where Toadalina and Merlow already were.

"Merlow and I are going to try these keys, you guys bring the rest from the waterfall alright," Toadalina waved to the others as she and Merlow made off for the hotel. On the far side of the lagoon, Blooey and Lakilester were still searching for keys.

Pointing at an odd anemone like creature, Lakilester swam over to the animal. Noticing a key resting on its interior padding, the Lakitu thought it had to be a working one. Reaching out to grab the key, Lakilester cringed in alarm as the anemone delivered its shock.

"Owowowow!" Lakilester wailed as he broke the water, smacking into Blooey.

"Hey man, what's the deal?" Blooey asked his teammate who described the situation.

"Let me get it, squids are resistant to anemone stings," Blooey dove underwater while Lakilester blew air on his wounded hand. Resurfacing with a key, Blooey handed it to Lakilester.

"I'm too tired to take another one back, you do it," Blooey was showing signs of exhaustion, after three trips to the far side of the lagoon and the hotel. Lakilester, not wanting to wear out Blooey completed, happily obliged.

"Alright, I bet my cloud this baby works," Lakitu swam for the shore with a triumphant smirk.

* * *

Inside the hotel, Toadalina and Merlow dashed to their door.

"Try your key," Merlow said to Toadalina who fit the two mechanisms together.

"No good, how about yours?" the waitress motioned for Merlow to try his. Turning it in the lock, the fortune teller prayed for it to work.

_Click!_

The door opened a bit and the lock was turned. Rejoicing with their success, Toadalina and Merlow ran out of the front door and back to Magmar Lagoon. Reaching Ballyhoo, they recounted their success.

"Excellent work," Ballyhoo congratulated them as Lakilester ran by with his key. "That means there are now 16,000 coins added to the pot and twenty-two minutes left on the clock! Don't give up yet," Ballyhoo sounded encouraging.

* * *

Reaching the hotel obviously tired, Lakilester looked at the clock in the lobby. The last hour had passed by quickly, what with having to swim from the far side of the lagoon and run to the hotel in addition to finding this key. Reaching the room he and Blooey shared, the Lakitu tried the lock.

"Oh yeah! It works!" Lakilester whooped with joy as the door was opened and nearly forgot to return to the lagoon. "There's only about ten minutes left," he thought.

_Lakilester:__ I was so tired, I didn't know if I would make it back in time to tell Ballyhoo._

Reaching the lagoon with two minutes on the clock, Lakilester told Ballyhoo of his success. Meeting the quota by a shave, Lakilester stopped to catch his breath while Ballyhoo turned to everyone else in the lagoon.

"Alright! The game is over!" Ballyhoo called to everyone and they swam back with mixed expressions.

"Did it work?" Klutch asked Lakilester, who could only nod.

"Indeed it did," Ballyhoo answered verbally for Lakilester and with a warm smile he said, "Which means the team managed to add the maximum amount of coins to the pot!"

After a few moments of light cheering and clapping, the team focused on Ballyhoo.

"However, that doesn't mean the mole wasn't at work. In review, some worked really hard while others fumbled with the challenge," Ballyhoo cast a look over the team.

"Luana, you worked doubly hard and unlocked two of the five doors yourself," Ballyhoo praised her while the team sent her proud smiles, except for a few of them. "You also discovered the catch to the game, I never said you couldn't help each other out, which maximized effort and minimized time."

"However, some of you didn't perform as wonderfully as Luana. To begin with, Merlow, you opted to wear your cloak, which slowed down your performance time considerably. That could certainly be considered suspicious, couldn't it?" Ballyhoo put the fortune teller on the spot.

"I…uh…it's personal," Merlow stammered and didn't meet the gaze of the others.

"And you, Blooey, you ran all the way to the hotel without a key. I can't think of a better time waster," Ballyhoo mentioned the blooper's foible and Blooey's crispy skin turned red.

"I swear I had it…" he mumbled under his breath.

"However, none of it really mattered, because the team came out on top, adding 20,000 coins to the pot!" Announcing the win again, Ballyhoo officially added the money in.

_Team Pot_

_**48,000/60,000**_

"You earned a lot of the available money from the first set of challenges, but the mole did manage to swindle you of some coin," Ballyhoo analyzed the current conditions of the game, "So you have the rest of the day off, but meet at the dining room for dinner at seven o'clock sharp, and don't forget, tonight is the first execution. Sadly, one of you must leave."

His words dampened the joyous mood of the air, and everyone headed back up to the hotel to figure out what they were going to do for the rest of the day. Deciding to do some shopping at the cluster of shops on the island, Flurrie, Ruby, and Toadalina headed out. Luana, Blooey, and Lakilester on the other hand went to the hotel pool to lounge and swim. Polari thought he'd take a nap and then hike one of the tropical trails behind the complex. Klutch and Bombette opted to go to the hotel's casino, while Merlow decided to join Polari on his hike.

* * *

"So, how are enjoying the game?" Polari asked Merlow as they worked their way down the trail.

"It's different," Merlow stated, "I've hardly ever left Starborn Valley, so it's something new to me. I can't help but feel a sickness for the home I've left behind, but I'm also becoming passionate about the game."

"It's odd isn't it, when we leave something we've always known. It was the same way for me when Rosalina recruited me to the Comet Observatory. I lived in a galaxy called Beach Bowl, and spent my younger years plotting maps of the solar system. I had always wanted to see what was beyond Beach Bowl, but I never thought I would. One day, this massive ship came to our galaxy, and Rosalina asked me to come with her. I was terrified, but I learned that my leaving the place you find most comfortable, you can discover things you never knew about yourself," Polari said to Merlow.

"I didn't look at it that way," Merlow thought aloud, "But I guess you're right, until joining this game, I didn't think I would ever discover the courage I had deep inside me. I would have never thought I would fall one hundred feet or get the chance to swim in an exotic lagoon, but I've done both now and it feels wonderful."

"Sometimes, it takes an opportunity like this game to unveil the truth in people, and I think we're all going to show what we're truly made of sometime soon," Polari proclaimed sagely.

"Well it seems as if we've reached the end of the path," Polari said as they hit a dead end. Turning back to the hotel, Polari lead the way while Merlow thought deeply on his words. He hadn't thought about the game in the sense that Polari had, and the luma was absolutely correct.

* * *

Dinner was brief, and conversation was at its nadir so far. The meals were eaten slowly and Ballyhoo ordered a bottle of wine.

"To commemorate the experience of our first executed player," he said as the expensive red was poured in every glass. Sipping on the drink, the players all eyed one another with varied amount of suspicion and trust.

"In a moment, each of you will take a ten question quiz on the identity of the mole. The player that receives the lowest score will be promptly asked to leave. In the event of a tie, the player who answered the questions slower will be asked to leave. I hope all of you have your suspicions narrowed and good luck," Ballyhoo debriefed them on the situation and in a few minutes they had finished the wine.

Opening a small door in the wall of the dining room, a yoshi waiter revealed a previously unnoticed room.

"Whoa, that's cool," Lakilester commented.

"Bombette, you're up first," Ballyhoo motioned for her to enter the room and the pink bob-omb nervously walked forward. Entering the tiny room, she was spooked when the yoshi closed the door behind her. Sitting down at the computer, she noticed the first question was up and immediately got to work.

_**In what order did the mole depart the boat when the players first met?**_

**-**_**First**_

_**-Second**_

_**-Third**_

_**-Fourth**_

_**-Fifth**_

_**-Sixth**_

_**-Seventh**_

_**-Eighth**_

_**-Ninth**_

_**-Tenth**_

_Bombette: __Toadalina and I got off the boat together…and so did some others, goodness I don't even remember who got off when! I hope the rest of the quiz isn't like this._

_**In what order did the mole jump in the Big Top Jump challenge?**_

_**-First**_

_**-Second**_

_**-Third**_

_**-Fourth**_

_**-Fifth**_

_**-Sixth**_

_**-Seventh**_

_**-Eighth**_

_**-Ninth**_

_**-Tenth**_

_Polari: __Being the last to jump, I'm pretty sure I remember the order of everyone else, but I can't be sure…_

_**What did the mole order for lunch on the first day of the game?**_

_**-Mushroom Steak**_

_**-Piranha Plant Salad**_

_Lakilester:__ Only two of us ordered the Piranha Plant Salad..._

_**What journal did the mole receive at lunch on the first day?**_

_**-Journal 1**_

_**-Journal 2**_

_**-Journal 3**_

_**-Journal 4**_

_**-Journal 5**_

_**-Journal 6**_

_**-Journal 7**_

_**-Journal 8**_

_**-Journal 9**_

_**-Journal 10**_

_Flurrie:__ Dear Lord, I barely remember my own journal number…_

_**What role did the mole play in the Baggage Claim challenge?**_

_**-Riddle Solver**_

_**-Bag Retriever**_

_**-Bag Assigner**_

_Klutch:__ Flurrie and Luana were being awfully slow at that riddle table…but then again, people missed obvious bag choices…I don't know!_

_**Was the mole's bag blown away by the geyser in the Baggage Claim game?**_

_**-Yes**_

_**-No**_

_Toadalina:__ It was Klutch and Ruby whose bags were destroyed…and I don't know if either of them is the mole…this quiz is difficult!_

_**What room is the mole staying in?**_

_**-Room 001**_

_**-Room 002**_

_**-Room 003**_

_**-Room 005**_

_**-Room 006**_

_Blooey:__ So many choices…I'm not even sure I know who the mole is to be honest…_

_**Did the mole open a door in the Room Service challenge?**_

_**-Yes**_

_**-No**_

_Luana:__ I opened two doors…who opened the others?_

_**Which of the following is the occupation of the mole?**_

_**-Retired Navigator**_

_**-Waitress**_

_**-Chemist**_

_**-Marine Biologist**_

_**-Fortune Teller**_

_**-Pilot**_

_**-Chef**_

_**-Saleswoman**_

_**-Actress**_

_**-Mechanic**_

_Merlow:__ Now let's see…I'm pretty sure Blooey is the Marine Biologist and Luana's the chef…or is it the other way around? I'm supposed to see into the future for goodness sakes!_

_**Who is the mole?**_

_**-Polari Nebular**_

_**-Toadalina Appleby**_

_**-Bombette Dynama**_

_**-Luana Shelle**_

_**-Merlow Starborn**_

_**-Lakilester Nimbulis**_

_**-Blooey Episseiche**_

_**-Ruby Mowz**_

_**-Flurrie Evershade**_

_**-Klutch Koopa**_

_Ruby:__ Well, that's about as good of a guess as anybody, I'm not entirely positive I know who the mole is at this point, but I think what Flurrie and I have discussed is enough to lend itself to some suspicions…_

Gathered in the lobby of the hotel, Ballyhoo had the players seated in two rows of chairs. In the first row of five, from left to right sat Bombette, Toadalina, Polari, Blooey, and Luana. In the second row of five, from left to right sat Flurrie, Lakilester, Merlow, Klutch, and Ruby. Their luggage was lined up by the front door, and the presence of it gave the execution an extremely real vibe. The first player was about to go home.

"When I enter your name into this computer, either a green screen with the logo thumbprint of the mole will appear if you are safe or a screen of similar design with a red background if you have been executed. I would normally ask for volunteers, but tonight, there is something we must address first," Ballyhoo's words sent nervous ripples throughout the players.

"During the Room Service challenge today, Klutch found something hidden in the lagoon, Klutch do you care to share?" Ballyhoo asked.

"I do in fact," the koopa snarled with delight, "I found an exemption."

The players were too stunned to speak as Klutch came forward to deposit the green coin into Ballyhoo's care.

"This means that for tonight, Klutch will be exempt from the execution, so let me enter his name now," Ballyhoo said.

**K-L-U-T-C-H**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**GREEN**

Looks mixed with envy and anger were shot Klutch's way, but he smiled triumphantly over them all.

"Now, any volunteers?" Ballyhoo asked.

"I'll go," Lakilester called out and Ballyhoo entered his name into the computer.

**L-A-K-I-L-E-S-T-E-R**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**GREEN**

"Alright," Lakilester let out a breath of relief. Being the only volunteer, Ballyhoo entered a name at random.

**T-O-A-D-A-L-I-N-A**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**GREEN**

Toadalina closed her eyes and whispered something, and the execution carried on.

**P-O-L-A-R-I**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**GREEN**

Polari slouched in his chair, letting the tense posture go. Relieved to be safe, the elderly luma now turned his attention to the rest of the players' fate.

**F-L-U-R-R-I-E**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**GREEN**

"Oh my goodness, I was sure it would be me," Flurrie said as she wiped the sweat off her brow. With half of the players safe, the other half descended into rising levels of anxiety.

**L-U-A-N-A**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**GREEN**

Luana smiled to herself, but then quickly turned her attention to the fate of the remaining players.

**M-E-R-L-O-W**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**RED**

Merlow hung his head, and Ballyhoo rose from the desk he was seated at with silent speed.

"Merlow, you are unfortunately the first victim of the mole and must leave immediately," Ballyhoo tried his best to sound extremely formal. Merlow picked up his bag and followed Ballyhoo out into the open night. Leaving the nine players alone, only Ruby spoke up.

"I didn't think it would be him," she murmured softly.

Polari wiped a tear from his eye, "None of us did."

"He was so mysterious, there was no way he could have been the mole," Toadalina commented.

"And now he's gone," Blooey summed up what everyone was thinking.

Outside, Ballyhoo talked to Merlow as the car that would take the fortune teller to the dock arrived.

"Just when I was having fun," Merlow said sadly.

"What will you take away from this game Merlow?" Ballyhoo asked kindly.

"Oh my, I think I finally learned that it's good to leave your comfort zone. If you don't then you won't be able to discover things about yourself that you never knew were there," Merlow said wisely, echoing the talk he and Polari had shared earlier.

"Well, we sure will miss you," Ballyhoo said as Merlow got in the car.

"Tell everyone goodbye for me," Merlow said back.

"I will do that," Ballyhoo's voice was growing in sadness, and as Merlow departed, the host felt doleful at the fortune teller's departure. Turning to head back inside, Ballyhoo looked at the moon hanging in the night sky. The white sphere was encircled by the pitch black, and Ballyhoo swung around to open up the door and rejoin the team, who now lacked a player. Down to nine, the rest could only wonder…who…is…the…mole?

**Poor Merlow, yet someone had to go first. Sorry for the long wait, but I've been really busy. If you haven't yet, go check out the new mole story by krisetchers, it's called the Mole: Agent's Elevation. It's super good and from an extremely talented author. Keep leaving those reviews and carry on with your reading, it makes me feel good! Kudos to Princess Toady, FFWS, and KingBloo once again for leaving reviews!**

**-AdmiralBobbery**


	5. Sink or Swim

_Last Time on The Mole: Hidden Adversary…_

_Coming back from breakfast, our team of ten discovered that their rooms were locked. Disappointed at losing their day of relaxation, the players barely had time to think before they were thrust into yet another challenge…_

"To get back into your room, you have exactly three hours to do so. All ten of you will swim the waters of Magmar Lagoon, and try to locate the key that goes to your room. Toadalina will be helping Merlow search for his room key, so don't worry about Bombette and Luana, Toadalina," the host looked at the toad girl and she nodded. Continuing, Ballyhoo said, "There five rooms, so only five keys in the lagoon will work. To make things a bit more interesting, one hundred keys have been scattered about the floor of the lagoon, and only five are the correct ones."

_Ruby:__ When I heard that, I began to look at the challenge in a whole new way. I think I started to doubt we could complete this challenge._

_Flurrie:__ I find Merlow very interesting, and I personally don't believe he's the mole. But the fact that he refused to remove his cloak seriously slowed him down, and I think it was a tad suspicious even if it was a personal reason._

_In a turn of events, Klutch discovered the first exemption of the game…_

It was a coin, large and green, and the koopa kid flipped it over and choked on the water around him as he read the words. Printed in big bold letters on the coin was one meaningful word…exemption.

_Klutch:__ I knew the other players would immediately suspect me if I announced I had the exemption, so I decided to stow it away and go back to hunting for keys. Besides, they were probably already starting to get suspicious since I had yet to find a key._

_While some players excelled at the Room Service challenge…others didn't do so well…_

_Bombette:__ I found it extremely suspicious that Blooey came to the hotel without a key; I mean who would do that other than the Mole?_

_Blooey:__ I swear I had that key when I left! It's hard to keep track of what you're holding when you've got this many arms, but I know I had it. I must've dropped it or something…_

_However, in the end our players opened every door and secured their first complete group win…_

"Luana, you worked doubly hard and unlocked two of the five doors yourself," Ballyhoo praised her while the team sent her proud smiles, except for a few of them. "You also discovered the catch to the game, I never said you couldn't help each other out, which maximized effort and minimized time."

"However, some of you didn't perform as wonderfully as Luana. To begin with, Merlow, you opted to wear your cloak, which slowed down your performance time considerably. That could certainly be considered suspicious, couldn't it?" Ballyhoo put the fortune teller on the spot.

"I…uh…it's personal," Merlow stammered and didn't meet the gaze of the others.

"And you, Blooey, you ran all the way to the hotel without a key. I can't think of a better time waster," Ballyhoo mentioned the blooper's foible and Blooey's crispy skin turned red.

"I swear I had it…" he mumbled under his breath.

"However, none of it really mattered, because the team came out on top, adding 20,000 coins to the pot!" Announcing the win again, Ballyhoo officially added the money in.

_Despite the good feelings in the air…the first execution arrived…_

"In a moment, each of you will take a ten question quiz on the identity of the mole. The player that receives the lowest score will be promptly asked to leave. In the event of a tie, the player who answered the questions slower will be asked to leave. I hope all of you have your suspicions narrowed and good luck," Ballyhoo debriefed them on the situation and in a few minutes they had finished the wine.

_And for one player, the game came to a shocking and early end…_

**M-E-R-L-O-W**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**RED**

* * *

Despite all of this, the question remains…who…is…the mole?

Is it…

**Polari**

_Surname: _Nebular

_Birthday: _October 25th

_Occupation:_ Retired Navigator

Or is it…

**Toadalina**

_Surname: _Appleby

_Birthday: _May 3rd

_Occupation: _Waitress

How about…

**Bombette**

_Surname: _Dynama

_Birthday: _January 10th

_Occupation: _Chemist

It could be…

**Luana**

_Surname:_Shelle

_Birthday__: _August 17th

_Occupation:_Marine Biologist

Is it…

**Lakilester**

_Surname:_Nimbulis

_Birthday:_ July 30th

_Occupation:_ Pilot

Or…

**Blooey**

_Surname:_ Episseiche

_Birthday:_ March 15th

_Occupation:_ Chef

Is it…

**Ruby**

_Surname:_ Mowz

_Birthday:_ November 7th

_Occupation:_ Saleswoman

Or is it…

**Flurrie**

_Surname:_ Evershade

_Birthday:_ February 29th

_Occupation: _Actress

And finally…

**Klutch**

_Surname:_ Koopa

_Birthday:_ August 23rd

_Occupation: _Mechanic

It could be any one of the preceding nine contestants, but the answer lies hidden in a cloud of secrets, suspicion, and lies. Our count of players has gone from ten to nine with the early departure of Merlow, but our remaining contestants continue to sleuth away. However, one of them isn't doing any sleuthing; one of them is trying their hardest to destroy the efforts of our eight investigators. Yes, this player isn't a player at all…they are in fact, the mole.

* * *

**Episode 2 Part 1**

It was early in the morning, and Flurrie floated her way from Room 003 to the just opening breakfast bar in the lobby. Several yoshi waiters busied about, dumping blueberry muffins into plastic tins and making sure all of the available fruit selections were ripe and unblemished. Not yet hungry, but too awake to go back to bed, Flurrie decided to wait amongst the many tables for the rest of the players. Turning her back to the manager's office, she didn't hear the door open, but nobody would unless they were listening for it. She didn't even have time to react when the cloth slid over her mouth and she passed into a deep unconsciousness.

Klutch, on the other hand, was slumbering heavily when the figure crept into his room. Bumping into the nightstand, the shadowy trespasser thought they had blown their cover, but Klutch and his roommate, Polari, slept on. A bit of drool was sliding down Klutch's chin, and the assailant shook their head in disgust. Passing the cloth over his gaping mouth, the figure knocked Klutch out cold without the koopa kid even realizing it.

Deciding to leave her roommates behind, Toadalina thought she would get some more exploring of Lavalava Island in before breakfast. Reaching the front door of the hotel, she barely managed to crack open the door before the concierge called out to her.

"Excuse ma'am, but before you go, someone has left a package for you," the yoshi at the desk said politely.

"A package…for me?" asked Toadalina in a confused tone. Walking over to the concierge desk, she approached the yellow yoshi. All of a sudden, he scooted a gigantic box out from underneath the desk. Big enough to hold a person, the box was completely still as Toadalina opened the closed flaps. She couldn't even find words for her surprise when Ballyhoo leapt out, and her squeal of fright was entirely muffled by the white cloth he placed over her lips as he jumped. Collapsing to the floor in a foggy daze, Toadalina was out cold before she made contact.

* * *

It was the peak of morning now, and Blooey and Lakilester reached the breakfast on the heels of the other players. Bombette sat with Ruby, who was saying something about Flurrie.

"I thought she'd be down here," the squeek said in concern, "But I guess she's out by the bazaar or the pool deck."

"Has anyone seen Toadalina?" Luana questioned out loud, wondering of the location of her missing roommate.

"Now that I think about it, Klutch usually sleeps later than me, so it's odd that he wasn't in bed when I woke up," Polari remarked, "I wonder where the three of them are."

It was Ballyhoo who held the answer to the myriad of questions the players had, and as he entered the breakfast bar with an apple in his hand, the group bombarded him with the same questions they had been asking one another.

"Whoa settle down," the host said between bites of his apple, "I can assure you that your three missing roommates are perfectly safe." Ballyhoo's eyes had a certain twinkle to them as he scanned the group, "But you'll have to be smart to find them."

"Oh God," Bombette groaned, "A challenge so soon? We just lost poor Merlow last night, and now we have to play one of your sick games?"

Ballyhoo seemed unfazed by her comment and said, "Sounds about right."

The pink bob-omb banged her head on the table, and Ruby patted her back reassuringly.

"So, what do we gotta do?" Lakilester asked the host informally.

"In order to rescue your three missing companions, you'll have to quick on your feet, but first, finish your breakfast and then follow me…we're going to the beach!" Ballyhoo's voice sounded grand.

"What if we never finish breakfast?" Blooey asked jokingly.

"Then I think your friends will leave this competition sooner than they would like to," Ballyhoo's final words left an ominous cloud in the air as he swiftly turned on his feet and marched back to the lobby.

"What does that mean?" Luana asked with a worried expression.

"I don't know, but I sure am glad that I'm not one of the missing three," Polari said.

"You never know," Ruby said, "Our situation could turn out to be a whole riskier than theirs."

* * *

Arriving at the beach, the six contestants noticed the flashy speed boats that rested on the shining white sands. The morning sun beat down on the dock, where Ballyhoo was standing. But that wasn't what really caught their eye, for about a good quarter of a mile from the beach were three wooden poles sticking out of the water, and chained to them were their missing teammates.

Shifting uncomfortably amongst her chains, Flurrie cried, "Why on Earth did I have to be picked for this role?"

"Because you've got a big mouth, so the others will be able to hear you all the way out here," Klutch snickered as he insulted the wind spirit.

"What did you just say?" Flurrie shrieked in rage.

"Calm down you two, I can see the others. They've just arrived on the beach so I'm guessing the challenge is about to start," Toadalina said calmly.

"You don't seem to be too bothered by being chained to a pole in the middle of the ocean," Flurrie chastised the young toad.

"Well, let's just say I've been through worse," Toadalina couldn't turn her head to look at Flurrie, so she just talked straight towards the sea.

Mystified as to what Toadalina was alluding to, Flurrie could only watch as the players on the beach were given their instructions by Ballyhoo.

"This challenge is called Sink or Swim, and I think you'll find time to be of the essence for this task," Ballyhoo began his introductory spiel. "See, three of your teammates are chained to individual poles, which will sink within the hour."

"Excuse me?" Bombette didn't phrase her words as a question.

"That's right, in one hour, those poles will sink. Now, once the chains touch the water, they will snap off of their captive and the player will be released. However, if that happens then you've lost the challenge. Now in order to reach your fellow players, you have to break off into teams of two and use these speed boats to rescue them. Each team must rescue one hostage, and no team can rescue more than one hostage," Ballyhoo continued with his instructions.

"That sounds pretty simple," Lakilester commented, spinning around on his cloud.

"Well, that's where you're wrong. See, the keys to each boat are locked in a box that's located in the boat. In order to obtain the combination to open the lock, you and your teammate must solve a series of math problems that will get increasingly difficult. By combining the numbers you get out, you'll receive a six-digit combination that can pop the lock. Once the lock is broken, the keys to the boat can be obtained and the hostages can be rescued," Ballyhoo finished the debriefing.

"So, who's with who?" Blooey asked the host, nudging his Lakitu friend.

"Glad you asked Blooey," Ballyhoo regarded the crispy squid, "You yourself will be paired with Bombette. Ruby and Lakilester will work together while Luana and Polari will make up the last team."

"What if we can't solve the math equation?" Polari asked the host timidly.

"Then you won't get that portion of the combination, no substitute questions are available," Ballyhoo answered.

"Seems like I'll have to be better at these than I am riddles," Luana laughed, alluding to their earlier task. The mention of a prior task made the group think of Merlow, which brought them all sadness.

"Merlow should be here," Ruby sighed.

"He was just so smart, but I did find it odd how he never took off his cloak," Bombette remarked.

"There's actually an explanation behind that," Ballyhoo mentioned from the side.

"Whaddaya mean man?" Lakilester asked, interested.

"Well, when someone of the House of Merlon is born, they begin as an underdeveloped black miasma. This miasma, sort of like a black cloud, takes shape into a human form once the child has what's called a Star Vision. When this vision occurs, the child portends an event for the first time, something usually pretty significant. The miasma continues to develop, and grow hair and a humanlike frame, but doesn't solidify until the seen vision takes place in reality. In the case of Merlow, his Star Vision hasn't happened in this realm yet, so taking off his cloak would reveal something that may frighten most of you," Ballyhoo explained.

"Wow," Blooey said, "I guess that's a pretty good reason to keep it on then." The seven of them lightly chuckled, remembering their executed friend, and after a few moments, Ballyhoo pulled a pocket watch out of his vest.

"I'll be starting the timer in a few seconds, so get ready to solve your equations," he instructed. "On your mark…get set…go!"

Opening a black case he had brought with him, Ballyhoo passed out pads of paper and pens. Once the materials were distributed to every team, he handed out the equations. Each set was entirely unique to the teams and each one possessed its own degree of complexity. Everyone got to work on their opening questions, and the timer began to tick down.

* * *

"What do you think they're doing?" Klutch asked his fellow captives.

"Toadalina darling, did you hear something?" Flurrie pretended like Klutch's question had been a howl of the wind.

"Come on Flurrie, it only goads him on," Toadalina advised.

"I'm only having fun," Klutch hissed.

"Well, I'd say your definition of fun is rather rotten," the actress turned up her nose at her statement.

"Humph, whatever," Klutch tried to cross his arms, but the metal chains wrapped around his shoulders and torso prevented this action. Looking back at the beach, the koopa kid could only hope that the others would rescue him.

Suddenly, the three felt their poles jolt a little. The wooden structures supporting the three of them began to slowly descend into the blue below, like molasses dripping onto a stack of warm pancakes. Approaching the rippling waters below, the three could only pray that the challenge would be a success.

* * *

Back on shore, Blooey and Bombette were buried deep in their first problem.

"Well, the square root of 64 is 8, and if we multiply that by seven, we get 56," Bombette spoke aloud as she worked out the problem.

"But there's a fraction as the exponent on the resultant, which means that we're dealing with negative numbers…right?" Blooey sounded confused.

"Yes, but the coefficient is a negative, which means that the solution is positive when we multiply it by that," Bombette corrected her teammate.

"So does that mean…that the answer is 2?" Blooey sounded puzzled.

"Yes! That's it Blooey, 2 is our first digit! Now only five more," Bombette sounded encouraged, but Blooey thought it would only get harder from there.

_Blooey:__ I'm not good at math, so when I heard we would be doing equations to solve the combination, I felt a bit discouraged. Solving the first problem took a lot of concentration, and I believed that the problems would progress in difficulty after each one we solved. _

"These logarithms are taxing," Polari mumbled as he and Luana worked out the equation they had been given.

"I'm getting 72, are you getting 72?" Luana asked her luma companion.

"No, I thought the answer was 16," Polari sounded jumbled up.

"Well, one of us has to be wrong, I guess we have to work through it again," Luana sounded frustrated.

_Luana:__ I love Polari to death; he's extremely likable and always willing to help. But, we kept on getting different answers and I didn't know if that meant he was just bad at math…or something else entirely. Plus, wasn't he a navigator at one point? Aren't they supposed to be good with numbers?_

"If we add these two vectors, than the resultant one will come out in the form of a binomial, which we can factor to find our two solutions. However, only one of them works because you can't have a negative distance," Ruby worked through the problem with celerity and sureness.

"Dang, you're good at these," Lakilester lauded the squeek's mathematical prowess.

"Well, my teachers always told me I should have gone into some field of math when I was in high school, but I've always had a heart for adventure, so I went with that," the white mouse said coolly.

"Well, I guess I should be a bit better at these considering I'm a pilot, but we only use numbers to gauge wind speeds and elevation rates," Lakilester admitted.

"You're a pilot huh?" Ruby confirmed his occupation, "That could be valuable information."

"Well, whatever, because I think you've got the answer," Lakilester peered over her shoulder at her paper, and his guess was correct.

"The answer is 6," Ruby said, sounding a bit annoyed, but otherwise sure of herself.

By this point, every team was working on their second digit except for one, which kept getting mixed up.

"I'm telling you, the answer is 16," Polari was unwavering in his belief.

"Well, then we'll go with that, but on the next discrepancy we'll go with my answer," Luana sounded genuinely fine about the conflicting answers, and proceeded to write down the first two digits.

"Do you think the answers can have more than one number to them?" Polari asked, not thinking of that before.

"Well, we both believed in a two-digit answer, so I'm guessing so," Luana shrugged.

"Alright, well let's just keep going," Polari decided.

* * *

Out at sea, the three hostages felt their wooden masts give a little shake as the structures sunk deeper into the blue abyss below.

_Toadalina:__ So, it was really scary, like at any second we could sink into the ocean. I was terrified truly, but with Flurrie and Klutch squawking like school children, I had to keep my composure._

"It appears to me as if they can't immediately get in the boats," Flurrie squinted her eyes to narrow her vision.

"I wonder what they could be doing; the chumps are probably just wasting time. Come to think of it, Ballyhoo probably offered them some cheap prize in return for letting us sink," Klutch said as he gnashed his teeth.

"Like, Ballyhoo wouldn't do that," Toadalina assured nervously, her purple pigtails swaying in the ocean breeze.

"We can only hope dearie," Flurrie muttered, sounding rather hopeless herself.

* * *

"Gah!" Blooey cried in anger, "What kind of math is this?"

"It's called a reflexive property," Bombette answered his rhetorical question, not looking up from her work.

_Bombette:__ My identity as a chemist has been obscured so far in the game, and although the occupations were listed on the quiz, I'm not entirely sure if everyone knows what I am yet. If everyone knew that I'm a scientist, then a lot of pressure would be put on me to solve my equations, which I could easily blow through. But, I didn't want to seem like I knew too much, especially at the beginning of the second episode, it was just too early._

"How do you know all this math junk?" Blooey asked incredulously as he looked up from his identical set of equations to that of Bombette's.

"I'm…err, just good with numbers," Bombette stammered.

_Blooey:__ Call me an octopus, but I was pretty sure Bombette was hiding something, and although I didn't know what it was, I was determined to get down to it. While we were busy solving those stupid equations, I thought I get some valuable information out of Bombette to share with Lakilester, and hopefully he was picking Ruby's brain as well._

"So, aside from all this challenge nonsense," Blooey tried his best to sound sophisticated, "Where do your suspicions lie?"

Bombette, curious as to the blooper's own information said, "Well, between you and me, I find it odd how Klutch was able to discover that exemption last round."

"Me too," Blooey agreed, a bit too quickly, "But I also think Toadalina has her fair share of secrets.

"What makes you say that?" Bombette perked up at the mention of her roommate.

"The whole ditzy waitress persona could just be a gimmick," Blooey stated, "See, if I were the mole, I would want the rest of the players to think that they're smarter than me, and then use that as an advantage over them when the time is right."

_Bombette:__ Shockingly, Blooey had something there. I had never thought of Toadalina in that manner before, and I thought his reasoning was rather logical._

"This one is 8," Ruby pointed at the second equation on her sheet, "And I believe we both got 9 from the third one."

"Hold on," Lakilester scratched his forehead with his pencil, "Dude, I got 12," the Lakitu hung his head.

"Hmm, let me see," Ruby looked at his paper, "You forgot to carry the three, now it should line up perfectly."

"Awesome!" Lakilester cheered, "We're halfway there now!"

_Ruby:__ Lakilester wasn't terrible at math, and he seemed genuinely enthused about getting the right answers and fixing his mistakes. From what I've seen so far, Lakilester is really into doing well in the challenges, and it's been a recurring theme with him so far. I'm pretty positive I can cross him off my list of suspects._

However, despite the badinage and success occurring between the first two pairs, the third pair was rife with discord and conflicting results.

"I'm telling you," Luana crossed her arms with impatience, something out of her character, "I've been through this summation five times now and I keep getting 5."

Polari wiggled his short arms up and down, obviously in frustration, "Then we go with 5, you said next time we had a discrepancy we would go with your answer. Five it is," the luma's tone had a bit of frustration to it. Luana scribbled down the answer for their third equation, and moved onto the next one.

"We've got three more," she said to herself, trying to retain her calm composure.

"30 minutes left!" Ballyhoo bellowed to the players, signaling that half of their time was up. Proving to be tricky, these equations were taking their toll of time on the players. Blooey and Bombette were about to begin their fifth, with Ruby and Lakilester close behind them. However, Luana and Polari had just crossed the halfway point, due to the conflicting answers they kept producing.

_Polari:__ Luana probably thinks I'm butting heads with her on purpose, but in truth, I just don't understand these questions! True, I was once a navigator, but my mathematical skills have waned and navigation really doesn't hold equations of this magnitude. That noki is just going to have face the fact that math is not our forte!_

* * *

While the three teams onshore scrambled to produce the correct numbers to their equations, the three hostages were nearly touching the churning waters below.

"Oh dear," Flurrie breathed, "I think I can feel the water."

"Hey!" Toadalina shouted, ignoring Flurrie's comment. "Is that Ballyhoo?" The Toadette was regarding the speedboat coming straight towards them, and sure enough, their host was standing at the bow. The boat slowed down once it neared them, and Ballyhoo beamed at them with a mischievous grin.

"Hello hostages," Ballyhoo said coolly.

"I'm literally going to kill you for this," Klutch hissed without a hint of jest in his voice.

"Hohoho," Ballyhoo laughed, "Not after what I have to say."

"There's not much that can change my mind," Klutch snarled.

"Would an exemption help?" Ballyhoo fished the green coin out of his pocket as he said this, twirling it between his fingers. The three players chained to the poles gasped, and wondered what the host had in store for them.

"You see," Ballyhoo began, "Onshore, the players are in teams of two trying to solve equations to learn the combination to a box that will let them get the keys to start the speedboats. That was a mouthful." The host paused and started again, "Each team can only bring one player back, and when they come to rescue you, that's where the exemption comes in." All three perked up their ears at this point. "See, in the glove box of each boat is a remote with several buttons on it. By pressing the yellow one, the engine to the boat will turn off via the disturbance of the magnetic frequency between the seabed and the surface. Pressing the yellow button will send the polarity of the boat haywire, and the engines will die. This will prevent the boat from reaching shore, thus no money is won. However, if all three of you, and it must be all three, press the yellow button on each boat, then you will all receive exemptions. Let it be warned though, that this challenge is worth 30,000 coins, 10,000 for each one of you brought back. The game ends in approximately twenty-five minutes, and they're nearing the end of their equations, so I advise you make a decision."

"I'm pretty sure that thing with the polarity and magnetic frequency is just a bunch of garbage, I've never heard of any of that junk before," Klutch protested.

"It might be, I'm really not sure," Ballyhoo admitted, "All I know is that pressing the yellow kills the engine. Ta-ta for now." With that, the boat spun around and tore off back towards the dock, being driven by some shy guy intern. The three watched as the boat docked and saw Ballyhoo strut back to his position on the wooden platform.

"What are we going to do?" Toadalina asked Flurrie and Klutch.

"I say we take the exemptions," Klutch said, sounding pretty sure of his decision.

"Now wait just a minute," Flurrie protested, "This is thirty-thousand coins we're talking about, and we don't even know if all three teams will reach us before the challenge is over, so say we stop two boats and then the third never launches, the pot wins no money and we lose our exemptions."

"I didn't think about it like that," Toadalina muttered to herself.

"Humph, do whatever you want," Klutch crossed his arms, "But I'm after that exemption."

_Klutch:__ The only thing that can guarantee your safety in this game are exemptions. Your lead on the mole may be completely incorrect, and then you're gone just like that. But, if you have an exemption, then you don't need to worry about a thing. That's how I prefer to play, and whether Flurrie or that Toadalina girl like or not, that boat is going down the second I set foot on it._

* * *

"Hey Bombette, I've got an answer for our final equation," Blooey nudged his pink companion.

"Me too, did you get 6?" Bombette asked the burnt blooper.

"6 exactly," Blooey replied with a huge smile and without a moment's hesitation, the two tore off towards their key box.

"Hey!" Ruby called to the other pair, "Are you guys done?"

"Yeah," Blooey yelled back, "We're about to test the combo!"

"Only fifteen minutes left!" Ballyhoo called from the dock, and Ruby nervously turned her head back to her work, trying to solve her final equation.

"Let's see," Bombette whispered to the ground while she fiddled with the key box's lock. "2-1-3-7-8-5-6," she said the numbers aloud as she entered them. Praying that their solutions were right, Bombette twisted the lock and closed her eyes.

_Click!_

"It opened!" Bombette squealed in delight.

"Awesome let's go!" Blooey jumped into the boat and grabbed the key from Bombette, jamming it into place. Turning the knob, the engine sprang to life and the choking sounds of the motor transformed to a steady hum in a matter of seconds. Turning up the throttle, Blooey and Bombette zoomed off towards the hostages, not knowing the secret lying up ahead.

**The first challenge of the second episode is under way! Sorry to those who liked Merlow, but alas, he is gone. Who will press the yellow button and throw 10,000 coins by the wayside? What teams will make it to the hostages in time? And most importantly…who…is…the Mole?**

**Please keep on reading and reviewing! It means the world to me!**

**-Admiral Bobbery**


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